Department for Transport

Cycling: Accidents

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if, in the light of the deaths of Sam Boulton, Robert Hamilton and Sam Harding, his Department will review the maximum penalties for the offence of opening the door of a vehicle into the path of another road user.

Andrew Jones: Depending upon the circumstances, a range of penalties exist, from a maximum penalty fine of £2,500 upwards for offences against the person. Charging decisions are a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service.

Aviation: Camberwell and Peckham

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what level of aircraft noise has been recorded in Camberwell and Peckham constituency in each of the last five years; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the addition of a third runway at Heathrow Airport on noise levels in that constituency in each of the five years after the expansion of that airport.

Mr John Hayes: The Government does not record the level of aircraft noise in the Camberwell and Peckham constituency area. We do, however, expect airports to help local communities understand the noise impacts they are affected by, through appropriate noise monitoring and the provision of relevant information. The Airports Commission used indicative flightpaths to assess the likely noise impacts of the Northwest Runway scheme. At this stage, it is not possible to identify the exact noise impacts on specific communities after expansion. There is a thorough process for proposing airspace changes in the UK which will be followed alongside the planning process. It will be through the airspace change process that communities will see and be able to comment on the detailed proposals for new flightpaths.

Taxis: Regulation

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to respond to the Law Commission's report into taxi and private hire regulation, published in May 2014.

Andrew Jones: The Government is considering all the recommendations in the Law Commission’s report on the regulation of private hire services in England and Wales. The Government has already acted to introduce legislation to bring forward some of the recommendations. A formal response to the Law Commission will be announced once scrutiny of the comprehensive report is completed.

Cycling

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of his Department's staff work on cycling policy.

Andrew Jones: Around 26 members of staff, or 1.2% of the central Department’s staff, work on cycling policy either in a full or part time capacity.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2017 to Question 59977, on motor vehicle exhaust emissions, where the 12 hydrogen refuelling stations are; and what plans he has to support the expansion of that network.

Mr John Hayes: The locations of the 12 hydrogen refuelling stations are as follows; seven in the Greater London area, one in Sheffield, one in Swindon, one in Port Talbot and two mobile refuellers based in the south of England. We are currently considering how Government can best continue to support the growth of hydrogen for transport and have been involving stakeholders in this process.

Train Operating Companies: Consumers

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to work with the rail regulator to ensure that each train operating company is complying with its obligations under the Consumer Rights Act 2016.

Paul Maynard: Department for Transport officials meet with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) regularly to discuss consumer issues, including train operators’ compliance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA). As a designated enforcer of consumer law, the ORR has the power to take action in relation to breaches of a range of consumer protection laws that apply to train operators and rail passengers, including the CRA. It is the responsibility of train operators to ensure they are compliant with their legal obligations. The ORR has also been working with the Rail Delivery Group and individual train operators over the last year to raise their awareness of the CRA and their obligations under it. The ORR is currently reviewing train operators’ compliance with the rules around how refunds must be paid under the CRA.

Railways: Dispute Resolution

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that independent alternative dispute resolution is provided in the rail sector that adequately supports passenger complaints.

Paul Maynard: Under existing arrangements, if a rail passenger is not happy with a train operator’s response to a complaint they can contact either Transport Focus (TF) or London TravelWatch (LTW) who work to resolve the issue with the train operator on their behalf. We are considering how to strengthen and build upon these arrangements, working closely with TF, LTW, the Office of Rail and Road and the Rail Delivery Group. We expect to have concluded discussions on this issue by early spring.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Crofton

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans the Government has to communicate with the residents of Crofton, West Yorkshire on proposals for the High Speed 2 route in that area.

Andrew Jones: The Government announced its preferred route through South Yorkshire on November 16th 2016. At the same time the Government launched a consultation on route refinements, including the proposed depot at Crofton, giving local residents the opportunity to give their views. In addition, HS2 Ltd is currently examining alternative locations for this depot. The Government also launched a consultation on its proposals for property compensation and assistance schemes. The consultations close on March 9th. All residents within 1km of the route, including in the Crofton area, received a letter and leaflet providing them with information on the route and consultations. An information event on the route in the Crofton area will be held on Monday 20th February in the local community centre. This follows briefings with locally elected representatives as well as adverts in local papers to publicise the consultations and information events. HS2 Ltd has led most of the engagement on behalf of government supported by DfT staff.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Crofton

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what impact assessment his Department has undertaken on the proposed construction of a High Speed 2 train depot in Crofton, West Yorkshire.

Andrew Jones: HS2 Ltd have assessed the engineering requirements and appraised the potential environmental impacts of the depot site at New Crofton. This includes an Appraisal of Sustainability (AoS). The Appraisal of Sustainability was published on the 16th November 2016 it appraised, process and alternatives, landscape, cultural heritage, bio diversity, water, noise and vibration, property and community integrity, socio-economics, access, waste, strategic fit policy, equality analysis and health. It is important to note that in response to concerns raised by the local community during recent engagement activities, HS2 Ltd are considering a number of alternative locations for the depot.

Tugboats: Scotland

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the respective bollard pull capacity is of the emergency towing vessels (a) MV Herakles and (b) Ievoli Black.

Mr John Hayes: The tested respective bollard pull for the Emergency Towing Vessels is:(a) MV HERAKLES: Maximum -165 Bollard Pull Tonnes (BPT); Sustained - 160 BPT. This were tested in September 2016.(b) IEVOLI BLACK: Maximum 142.9 BPT; Sustained - 139.4 BPT. This were tested in December 2016.

Home Office

Asylum: Finance

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers in receipt of section 95 support there were in the third quarter of 2016 in (a) each nation, (b) each region in England, (c) each local authority area and (d) Birmingham, Ladywood constituency.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Home Office publishes quarterly figures on the number of asylum seekers housed in dispersed accommodation, including under Section 95, by local authority in the Immigration Statistics release, in table as_16q and 17q in volume 4 of the Asylum data tables. These are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2016/list-of-tables#asylum. Figures on the number of those accommodated under Section 95 by constituency could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of funding changes on the effectiveness of the service provided by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) have delivered significant savings over the past five years. Fire-related fatality numbers and incidents can fluctuate between years, and despite a small increase in 2015/16, over the past 10 years there has been a 22 per cent decrease in the number of fire-related fatalities and a 52 per cent decrease in the total number of reported fires. Since 2009/10 single-purpose fire and rescue authorities’ non-ringfenced reserves rose by 153% to £602 million. These resources should be targeted at achieving long-term efficiencies. West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authorities’ non-ringfenced reserves rose from £7.3m in 2009/10 to £29m in 2015/16.

Refugees: Children

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress is being made on providing sanctuary for refugee children currently in France, Greece and Italy.

Mr Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made on the implementation of the Dubs amendment to bring unaccompanied child refuges in Europe into the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In 2016, we transferred over 900 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to the UK from Europe, including more than 750 from France as part of the UK’s support for the Calais camp clearance. Approximately 200 of these children met the criteria for section 67 of the Immigration Act.More eligible children will be transferred from Europe, in line with the terms of the Immigration Act, in the coming months and we will continue to meet our obligations under the Dublin Regulation. In addition to our long standing secondee in Italy, we have seconded an expert to Greece who has been working closely with UNHCR, IOM and the Greek authorities to identify potentially eligible children under section 67 of the Immigration Act and support transfers under the Dublin Regulation.

Knives: Seized Articles

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of knife seizures resulted in an arrest in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of weapon sweeps aimed at tackling knife crime resulted in a weapon seizure in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Brandon Lewis: It is a matter for the police to record the outcomes of their operations to tackle knife crime, including arrests and weapons seizures. The Home Office does not hold this information.

Immigrants: Health Services

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK have paid the immigration health surcharge in each year for which records exist.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Information on the Immigration Health Surcharge can be found in the within the published National Audit Office annual figures, dated 28 October 2016.https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Recovering-the-cost-of-NHS-treatment-for-overseas-visitors.pdf

Migrant Workers: EU Nationals

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the change in the number of EU citizens in the UK that will be (a) engaged in agricultural work, (b) engaged in construction work, (c) employed in the NHS and (d) employed in the UK after April 2017.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Office for National Statistics estimate around 2.3 million EU nationals resident in the UK were in employment in Q3 2016. This is included in the November 2016 edition of the ONS Labour Market Statistics publication. Estimates are subject to a degree of uncertainty.

Domestic Violence: Homicide

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) women and (b) men were killed by a current or former partner in the last year for which figures are available.

Sarah Newton: The Home Office Homicide Index contains information on partner / ex-partner homicides. Information on the number of women and men aged 16 or over killed by a partner or ex-partner in England and Wales for each of the last five years is given in the table.This information is taken from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publication Focus on Violent Crime and Sexual Offences: Year ending March 2015, available here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/compendium/focusonviolentcrimeandsexualoffences/yearendingmarch2015Information for 2015/16 will be published by the ONS in February 2017.

Refugees: Children

Mr Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to assist unaccompanied refugee children in (a) France and (b) other European countries.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In 2016, we transferred over 900 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to the UK from Europe, including more than 750 from France as part of the UK’s support for the Calais camp clearance. Approximately 200 of these children met the criteria for section 67 of the Immigration Act.More eligible children will be transferred from Europe, in line with the terms of the Immigration Act, in the coming months and we will continue to meet our obligations under the Dublin Regulation.In addition to our long standing secondee in Italy, we have seconded an expert to Greece who has been working closely with UNHCR, IOM and the Greek authorities to identify potentially eligible children under section 67 of the Immigration Act and support transfers under the Dublin Regulation.The Government has also established a £10 million Refugee Children Fund to support the needs of vulnerable refugee and migrant children arriving in Europe.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many drunk tanks have been established since 2013.

Brandon Lewis: The Home Office does not collect data on the number of drunk tanks in England and Wales. Any such information will be held locally by the police, local authorities and/or NHS.

Immigration: EEA Nationals

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to monitor whether EEA nationals residing in the UK who are out of work or not actively seeking work for a period longer than three months have been asked to provide evidence (a) of identity and nationality of an EEA member state and (b) that they are exercising a free movement right in the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill: An EEA national has the right to reside in the UK for more than three months where they can demonstrate they are exercising free movement rights. Exercising such rights in this context means that they must be a worker, jobseeker, self employed, self sufficient or a student.Newly arriving jobseekers must wait for three months before they can claim Job Seekers’ Allowance (JSA) and are subject to a genuine prospect of work (GPOW) test after three months. Retained workers, those who have previously worked in the UK and left work involuntarily, are subject to the GPOW test after six months on JSA. Following a GPOW test, if an EEA national does not have a genuine prospect of work, benefits are stopped immediately and they are liable for removal from the UK.

Migrant Workers: Agriculture

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with (a) the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, (b) the Department for Exiting the European Union and (c) farming representatives on seasonal agricultural workers from other EU member states.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Home Office has regular discussions with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for Exiting the European Union. I met representatives from the National Farmers Union on 1 November.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for permanent residence by EU nationals living in the UK there have been in each of the last five years; and what proportion of those applications were refused.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Statistics on applications for Documents Certifying Permanent Residence issued to EEA nationals are published quarterly in table ee_02_q of the Immigration Statistics. These cover the period up to September 2016 and include data for granted and refused applications. The most recent edition (European Economic Area data tables Immigration Statistics July to September 2016) is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/572387/eea-q3-2016-tables.ods

Immigration: EU Nationals

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what average length of time is taken for her Department to process applications for permanent residency from EU nationals.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In line with Regulation 18(1) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations, a document certifying permanent residence must be issued to an EU national as soon as possible after an application and relevant documents have been submitted. The time taken to reach a decision will depend on the complexity of the case and the evidence supplied.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many appeals there have been against refusal of an application for permanent residence by EU nationals in each of the last five years; and what proportion of those appeals have been successful.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Available published data on EEA Free Movement appeals can be found in Table FIA.3 of the Tribunals and gender recognition statistics. These cover the period up to September 2016 and include data for allowed and dismissed appeals.The most recent edition is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2016

Veterans: British Nationality

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with the HKOR Benevolent Association on UK (a) residency and (b) citizenship for former British-Hong Kong servicemen and women.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I have not met with the group to discuss these issues. However, my department has received representations from them and are aware of their issues.

Immigration: Rural Areas

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to ensure that immigration policy supports the rural economy.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The UK has an immigration system that works in the national interest, and takes account of the interests of all parts of the UK economy, including the rural economy.

Refugees: Children

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on bringing vulnerable refugee children to the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In 2016, we transferred over 900 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to the UK from Europe. More children will be transferred under the Immigration Act and we will continue to meet our obligations under the Dublin Regulation.Outside of Europe, approximately half of the 4,400 Syrians resettled under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme are children, and we will resettle up to 3,000 vulnerable children and their families to the UK by the end of this Parliament.

Hate Crime

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of hate crime reporting.

Sarah Newton: There were 62,518 hate crimes recorded by the police in 2015/16, an increase of 19% over the previous year. There were increases in all five hate crime strands - race, religion, sexual orientation, disability and gender identity.Improvements in recording by the police, a greater awareness of hate crime and improved willingness of victims to come forward are likely to have led to the increase in recorded crime.

Immigration

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of applying different immigration rules to Scotland and other constituent parts of the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Immigration remains a reserved matter and we will consider the needs of the UK as a whole.Applying different immigration rules to different parts of the UK would complicate the immigration system, harming its integrity, and cause difficulties for employers who need the flexibility to deploy their staff to other parts of the UK.

Fire and Rescue Services

James Cleverly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reform the fire service.

Brandon Lewis: The Government - in partnership with the fire sector - is delivering a radical and ambitious programme of reform to make the fire and rescue service more accountable, efficient and professional than ever before. This includes: creating a new independent inspectorate; enabling police and crime commissioners to take on local fire governance; supporting commercial transformation; driving transparency; forming a professional standards body and reforming the workforce to make it more flexible, skilled and diverse.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Construction

Robert Courts: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to encourage innovation in the construction industry.

Jesse Norman: The Government is working with the Construction Leadership Council and its innovation work streams to drive forward innovation across the sector. It is also promoting innovation through its approach to its own construction procurement, set out in last year’s Government Construction Strategy, including requiring digital construction or Building Information Modelling (“BIM”) on all projects, stimulating adoption of digital construction in the sector’s supply chains. On major projects such as Crossrail and HS2, the client is acting as a powerful driver of innovation in construction. The Government has also set aside £1.7 billion of funding to pilot ‘accelerated construction’ to speed up house building on surplus public sector land. This will seek to encourage small and medium builders, new developers and innovative methods of construction in order to build at double the rate of traditional house builders. In addition, at Budget 2016 the Government committed funding to the next three years of the ‘Digital Built Britain’ Programme further to develop digital construction technologies and the UK’s global leadership in them.

Renewable Energy

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the level of investment in renewable energy generation in the UK was in each of the last five years.

Jesse Norman: Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) Clean Energy Investment Fact Pack shows investment in UK renewable energy generation as follows:UK Investment £bn201220132014201520166.78.89.815.615.6Source: Bloomberg New Energy Finance (Jan 2017)

Green Investment Bank: Assets

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that proceeds from the sale of the Green Investment Bank disposal assets are reinvested in the UK after the privatisation of that bank.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government has set out its plans for the sale of the Green Investment Bank (GIB) in the document “Green Investment Bank: sale of shares” laid before Parliament on 3 March 2016.As stated in that document, the Government has asked potential investors to confirm their commitment to GIB’s green values and investment principles and how they propose to protect them, as part of their bids for the company.Moving GIB into private ownership will enable the bank to have greater access to capital and be free of the constraints of Government ownership including State aid restrictions. This means GIB will be able to play more of a role in supporting green investment.

Energy: Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on the future of the single energy market on the island of Ireland.

Jesse Norman: The Department recognises the unique issues raised by the Single Electricity Market on the island of Ireland, and is committed to continue working with the Northern Ireland Executive, the Irish Government and with the EU to make sure that Northern Ireland continues to have access to an affordable, secure and sustainable supply of energy for business and domestic use.

Wind Power: Subsidies

Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether any of the applicants for developing onshore wind farms have been informed that subsidy will be available to developments not beginning production until after March 2017.

Jesse Norman: The Renewables Obligation (RO) support scheme closed early to new onshore wind capacity in Great Britain after 12 May 2016, with limited grace periods allowing projects meeting certain criteria to gain accreditation up to 31 January 2019. The early closure and grace periods were brought into effect by the Energy Act 2016 and the rules are explained in guidance available on Ofgem’s website.[1] When developers apply for support under the RO scheme, Ofgem assesses their application in line with the relevant legislation and informs them if their station meets the criteria for accreditation (including the conditions for any relevant grace period).Support for onshore wind installations of up to 5 MW total installed capacity is available through the Feed-in Tariff scheme. [1] Available at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/system/files/docs/2016/10/renewables_obligation_-_closure_of_the_scheme_to_onshore_wind_england_wales_and_scotland.pdf

Counterfeit Manufacturing: Electronic Equipment

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what enforcement work was undertaken by trading standards officers to tackle the sale of counterfeit electrical goods into the UK prior to the Christmas retail period; and what items were seized as part of that work.

Joseph Johnson: The Government does not collate information about enforcement work undertaken by Trading Standards and does not hold data about counterfeit electrical items seized as part of any enforcement work by that organisation.

Counterfeit Manufacturing: Electronic Equipment

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the cost to the economy of counterfeit electrical goods.

Joseph Johnson: The Government does not hold data estimating the cost to the economy of counterfeit electrical goods.

Tidal Power

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what forecast he has made of when all six proposed tidal lagoon power plants in England and Wales will be completed and operational.

Jesse Norman: Government is currently considering the issues which would arise from a broader lagoon programme as part of its overall assessment of the Hendry Review. A Government response to that review will be published in due course.

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to leverage large-scale private investment in the funding of the planned Swansea Bay tidal lagoon power plant.

Jesse Norman: The Government is considering the findings of the independent review and will decide, in light of the relevant factors, whether or not to proceed with the negotiation of a Contract for Difference (CfD) for the proposed Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project.As with all low carbon electricity projects, funding arrangements for the development and construction of individual projects are matters for the developer.

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Government plans to acquire a golden share in each new nuclear power station project in the UK.

Jesse Norman: The Government announced on September 15 2016 that, after Hinkley Point C, it would take a special share in all future nuclear new build projects. A special share would be discussed at the time any support package for a project is negotiated, and before a developer makes a Final Investment Decision and starts construction.

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has to acquire significant equity stakes in new nuclear power stations to be constructed in the UK.

Jesse Norman: The Government engages with developers proposing new nuclear projects in the UK on a range of issues, including funding. Discussions on funding, as my hon. Friend would expect, are commercially sensitive.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Staff

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of employees in his Department working in full-time business support roles in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James: Information on individual staff roles and the percentage of time spent on specific tasks is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Defence Growth Partnership

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Steering Committee of the Defence Growth Partnership last met; and when that committee next plans to meet.

Jesse Norman: The Steering Committee of the Defence Growth Partnership (DGP) last met on 10 November 2016 and the next meeting is scheduled for 26 January 2017. The Steering Committee is made up of representatives from both government and industry, including SME representatives.

Conditions of Employment

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) small, (b) medium-sized and (c) large businesses that have fired and rehired employees in accord with his Department's guidance on changing an employment contract in each of the last five years.

Margot James: Government does not collect information on terminated and re-instated employment contracts. Employment contracts and contractual changes are a matter for the individual and the employer to agree, but they must comply with the legal framework.Guidance on the GOV.UK website reflects the legal requirements employers must follow when asking individuals to consider contractual changes. The guidance also provides advice on recourse available if an individual feels they have been unfairly treated.

Conditions of Employment

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to amend his Department's policy on changing an employment contract to prevent employers firing and rehiring employees.

Margot James: Government has no plans at present to change this policy.The UK labour market allows individuals and employers to agree employment contracts and patterns of work that suit them and does not want to restrict people’s ability to choose how they work, nor impose strict unnecessary regulations on businesses.However, Government is clear that employers must take their employment law responsibilities seriously and cannot simply opt out of their responsibilities or avoid the law.

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the headline strike price proposed for the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon project is; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The Contract for Difference negotiations are commercially sensitive and I cannot comment on the specifics of the developer’s latest proposals.

Green Investment Bank: Privatisation

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of suspending the privatisation of the Green Investment Bank.

Mr Nick Hurd: The sale process was launched on 3 March 2016 and is currently ongoing. No final decisions have yet been taken.

Renewable Energy

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of whether the UK is on course to meet its 15 per cent renewable target by 2020; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The UK’s most recent report to the European Commission, published on 21 January 2016, sets out progress in renewables deployment over 2013 and 2014 across heating and cooling, transport and electricity sectors. It reported that the country is beating its interim target of 5.4%, reaching 6.3% of final energy consumption from renewables for 2013 and 2014. The UK is also making good progress towards the next interim target of an average of 7.47% of energy from renewables across 2015 and 2016. In 2015 alone 8.3% of energy came from renewable sources. Having met the Directive’s interim targets, the assessment is that the UK is currently progressing in line with the trajectory set out in the Renewable Energy Directive.

Heating

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to develop the use of hydrogen as a source of low-carbon heating.

Jesse Norman: The Department is undertaking work to strengthen the analysis of the range of potential approaches to decarbonising heat. This includes work to consolidate and review the evidence base on the use of hydrogen for heating, and to enhance the Department’s ability to model the costs and benefits.

Hydroelectric Power: Storage

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to deploy new hydroelectric storage capacity in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK.

Jesse Norman: The Government and Ofgem recently published a joint Call for Evidence on how to manage the transition to a smart energy system. This included a proposed approach to addressing policy and regulatory barriers to energy storage so that it can compete on a level playing field with other providers of flexibility. We will publish a Smart Systems Plan in spring 2017 setting out specific measures to be taken forward.Since 2012, more than £80m of public sector controlled support has been invested in energy storage research, development and demonstration activities. This has included a grant to a UK pumped hydro storage company to analyse the potential for developing new facilities in novel sites around Great Britain. The 2016 Budget announcement committed at least £50 million to help innovation in energy storage, demand-side response and other smart technologies over the next five years.

Renewable Energy: Storage

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to deploy new battery storage capacity in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK.

Jesse Norman: The Government and Ofgem recently published a Call for Evidence on how to manage the transition to a smart energy system. This included a proposed approach to addressing policy and regulatory barriers to energy storage so that it can compete on a level playing field with other providers of flexibility. We will publish a Smart Systems Plan in spring 2017 setting out specific measures to be taken forward.Since 2012, more than £80m of public sector controlled support has been invested in energy storage research, development and demonstration activities. This has helped to fund various storage technology demonstrators, including battery systems of different types and sizes. The 2016 Budget announcement committed at least £50 million to help innovation in energy storage, demand-side response and other smart technologies over the next five years.

Dual Use Goods and Technologies

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much public funding the Dual Use Technology Exploitation cluster has received.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Dual-Use Technology Exploitation (DUTE) programme was created as an output from the Defence Growth Partnership’s Value Chain Competitiveness Team and brings together SMEs, suppliers, primes and academics. The DUTE programme was officially established in September 2015 following the commitment of a joint Industry and Government fund of £10.3 million. The total programme value also includes a £6.5 million Government grant from 2014 to 2018 that came from the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) 2014 competition.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Yemen: Military Intervention

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the findings of the Saudi-led coalition Joint Incident and Assessment Team report, published on 5 August 2016.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK welcomes the release by the Joint Incident Assessment Team (JIAT) on 4 August of the outcome of eight investigations into incidents of alleged breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen, and the further release of five investigations on 6 December. We regularly press, including at senior levels, the need for the Saudi-led Coalition to conduct thorough and conclusive investigations into reports of alleged violations of international humanitarian law.The Saudi-led Coalition announced the composition and investigation process of the JIAT on 4 August. This announcement conveyed that the JIAT would comprise representation from six Coalition countries, would operate with independence and neutrality, and will conduct investigations in accordance with international processes. Although the UK is not a member of the JIAT and has not directly participated in investigations, we continue to provide advice and support to the JIAT on the process for investigations.

Diplomatic Service

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, where the UK shares diplomatic premises with other EU member states.

Alok Sharma: I refer the hon. member to my answer of 19 January 2017 given in response to PQ 59700.

Israel: Bedouin

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Israel on the demolition of the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran in southern Israel; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We continue to call on the Israeli authorities and Bedouin community to work together to find a solution that meets the needs and respects the rights of the people affected. This should include a robust planning process that adequately consults and addresses the needs of Israel’s Bedouin communities.

Syria: Armed Conflict

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2017 to Question 58505, whether the meeting on 15 December 2016 was his only one with the Russian ambassador on the humanitarian situation in Aleppo in 2016.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: There was one meeting in 2016, referenced in the aforementioned Question, between the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) and the Russian Ambassador. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) did not meet the Russian Ambassador in 2016 prior to his current role. Minister for Europe and the Americas Sir Alan Duncan had an in-depth discussion on Syria in August 2016 with the Russian Ambassador during which he expressed the UK's concern about the situation in Aleppo and our shared interest in working together on a political settlement in Syria.In addition to bilateral engagement, we have regular dialogue with Russia on Syria in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), and have discussed the humanitarian situation in Aleppo on a number of occasions. This includes discussions prior to UNSC Resolutions 2328, 2332, and most recently, 2336, which was adopted on 20 December and requested the UN monitor evacuations from eastern Aleppo.

Israel: Palestinians

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to report to the House the outcome of the Paris Peace Conference on 15 January 2017.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: There are currently no plans to report the outcome of the Paris Conference to the House. A readout of the conference is available on the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

Hong Kong: Veterans

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Home Secretary on former British-Hong Kong armed forces personnel seeking UK (a) residency and (b) citizenship.

Alok Sharma: I have not held any discussions with my ministerial colleagues at the Home Office on this issue. However, the Home Office Minister of State for Immigration, my hon. Friend, the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Mr Goodwill) and the former Home Office Minister of State for Immigration, my right hon. Friend, the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr Brokenshire) have received representations in support of the servicemen – both in person and in writing – and they are aware of their concerns.

Israel: Security

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the security situation in Umm al-Hiran since the car-ramming attack in that village in January 2017.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are concerned by recent reports of violence in the Negev Bedouin village of Um al-Hiran in Israel . We understand that the Israeli authorities have issued a demolition order against the village. The UK calls on the Israeli authorities and Bedouin community to work together to find a solution that meets the needs and respects the rights of the people affected. This should include a robust planning process that adequately consults and addresses the needs of Israel’s Bedouin communities.

Department for Exiting the European Union

EU Staff: Pensions

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment his Department has made of the pension responsibility for UK nationals who worked as EU civil servants after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The administrative costs of the EU Institutions, including pension payments to retired EU Civil Servants are paid through the EU budget. We will approach these negotiations with the full intention of securing a deal that delivers the best possible outcome for the UK. It goes without saying that we want a smooth and orderly exit from the EU, and will look at the best way to deliver that.

Horizon 2020

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will prioritise maintaining access to Horizon 2020 funding for researchers in forthcoming negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: This Government wants the UK to be the go-to place for innovators and investors across the world, and we intend to secure the best possible outcome for the UK research base as we exit the European Union.As the Prime Minister has said, we would welcome an agreement to continue to collaborate with our European partners on major science, research, and technology initiatives. We have been clear that we want to create an environment in which the UK as a whole can continue to be a world leader in research, science and the tertiary education sector more broadly.UK businesses and universities should continue to bid for competitive EU funds while we remain a member of the EU and we will work with the Commission to ensure payment when funds are awarded. The Treasury will underwrite the payment of such awards, even when specific projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.Whatever happens in the future, the Government is committed to ensuring the UK remains a world leader in international research and innovation.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Recruitment

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff his Department has recruited since June 2016; what proportion of those staff identify as (a) female, (b) male and (c) another gender; what proportion of the total number of staff recruited identify as BAME; and what proportion of that total number has negotiation expertise.

Mr Robin Walker: All departments are equipping themselves with the resources they need to get the best deal for the UK. The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 300 staff, and is growing fast. As the Department is currently recruiting a large number of staff we do not currently hold a full data set, but diversity data will be published in due course in line with CS reporting requirements.

British Nationals Abroad: Health Services

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the effect of leaving the EU on access to healthcare for UK nationals living in other EEA countries; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robin Walker: While the people of the UK have voted to leave the European Union, until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force, including the rights associated with accessing healthcare abroad.Nothing has yet been decided on the future of the current reciprocal healthcare arrangements. The Government is considering the various options that may be available and it would be wrong to set out unilateral positions in advance of the negotiation process. At every step of these negotiations we will work to ensure the best outcome possible for the UK – this includes UK nationals living in other EU countries.

Brexit: Greater London

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many times he has met (a) the Mayor of London and (b) Assembly Members of the Greater London Authority to discuss priorities for London in negotiations for the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: We are determined to listen and talk to as many organisations, companies and institutions as possible.We need to ensure that all views – including those of London’s elected bodies - are reflected in the British Government's analysis of the priorities and opportunities for the UK as it exits the European Union.Details of Ministerial meetings will be published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which will be made publicly available on GOV.UK.

Department for International Development

Central Bank of Yemen

Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what technical assistance the Government has given the government of Yemen to help ensure that the Central Bank of Yemen remains fully operational while its headquarters is moved to Aden.

Rory Stewart: The UK is not providing direct technical assistance to the Central Bank of Yemen (CBY) in Aden. However, we are working closely with other donors to look at ways to support the CBY to continue to function, pay salaries across the country, and pay for essential food and fuel imports.

Kashmir: Overseas Aid

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the value of projects delivered on the ground in Kashmir as a result of her Department's work has been in the last five years.

Rory Stewart: Pakistan Administered Kashmir benefits from national programmes in Pakistan to promote economic growth and improve education and health services. DFID no longer funds any national programmes in India and therefore India Administered Kashmir does not currently receive assistance from DFID. DFID does not routinely measure total expenditure directed to sub-national geographies outside our focal states or provinces. DFID may also respond to government requests for humanitarian assistance in India and Pakistan Administered Kashmir, including through DFID funded UN agencies.

Department for International Development: Iron and Steel

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, (a) how much steel in weight her Department has procured, (b) for what purpose that steel was procured and (c) what the countries of origin of that steel were in each of the last five years.

Rory Stewart: DFID does not procure steel.

Department for Education

Further Education: Learning Disability

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many courses designed to support people with a learning disability were provided in a further education college in each of the last five years.

Robert Halfon: Socially disadvantaged and hardest to reach learners may have no or few qualifications, complex lives with multiple problems or a diagnosed or undiagnosed learning difficulty and may require more support to engage in, and complete, their learning. FE providers work with a wide range of partners in their area to develop innovative ways of responding to the needs of disadvantaged learners. For many, engagement will be through non-accredited learning progressing to full qualifications, a traineeship, apprenticeship, or employment/self-employment. We do not hold data on courses designed to support people with a learning disability in Further Education Colleges.

Pupils: Personal Records

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 10 January 2017 to Question 57722, how many applications to extract information from the National Pupil Database were accepted in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The data in the National Pupil Database helps give us a clear picture of how the school system is working. The Department takes privacy extremely seriously and access to sensitive data is strictly controlled. Allowing vetted researchers and academics access to excerpts of this data, in an anonymised format and under strictly controlled conditions, can help the development and improvement of our education system for the benefit of all.The applications accepted to extract information from the National Pupil Database over the past 5 years are detailed in the table below. These include both the Department’s and external requests.YearTotal number of cases accepted 20123282013311201438020153962016380

Careers and Enterprise Company: Business

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking in order to encourage more businesses to get involved with the work of the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC); and how many businesses are working with the CEC.

Robert Halfon: The Careers & Enterprise Company are continuing to make excellent progress to transform the provision of careers, enterprise and employer engagement experiences for young people. We continue to work closely with employer representative bodies to encourage businesses to get involved with the work of the Company. In 2015 we commissioned the Company to set up the Enterprise Adviser Network – a network, operating through Local Enterprise Partnerships, that coordinates employer volunteers working in schools and colleges to support their careers and enterprise strategies and improve links with business. Since the launch of the Network, over 1300 Enterprise Advisers from more than 800 businesses are working with over 1300 schools and colleges to support their careers and enterprise provision. The Company also works in close partnership with employer representative bodies to strengthen the links between schools, colleges and employers.

Apprentices

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that there is a sufficient number of providers to deliver end-point assessments for apprentices.

Robert Halfon: All end-point assessments must be carried out by an Independent Assessment Organisation on the Skills Funding Agency’s Register of Apprentice Assessment Organisations to ensure high quality assessment. The assessment market has been adjusting rapidly for most new apprenticeship standards. 82% of all apprentice starts on standards have an end-point assessment organisation available to them, whether they are close to needing end-point assessment or not. This figure rises to 96% for apprentices likely to require an end-point assessment in 2017. There are a small number of standards that already have starts but where an Assessment Organisation has not yet been confirmed. Here, we are taking proactive action to resolve this and ensure there is end-point assessment provision by the time the apprentice completes their apprenticeship. This includes actively working with trailblazer groups and potential assessment organisations to fill gaps in provision and put contingencies in place.

Free Schools

Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will review the free school application process to ensure that hon. Members, local councillors and other relevant stakeholders are kept informed of proposed developments in their area.

Edward Timpson: The free schools programme is a demand-led programme. We assess applications to establish free schools against published criteria. At the beginning of each application wave we write to local authorities to ask for their views about any free school applications received. We consult them again about the ones that have been invited to attend an interview and then again about the ones that are proceeding to the next stage of the process, the pre-opening stage. In addition Lord Nash writes to all the relevant Hon. Members at the end of the application wave to let them know which applications in their constituencies have been successful.Under section 10 of the Academies Act 2010 the trust behind the proposal must consult the people they think appropriate on whether to enter into a funding agreement with the Secretary of State. The funding agreement needs to be signed before the school can open. This statutory consultation informs stakeholders and the local community about the project and gives them the opportunity to comment on it.We are continually looking for ways to improve the application process.

Pupil Exclusions

Mr Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to provide information on how many pupils were excluded from (a) community schools, (b) foundation schools, (c) free schools, (d) academies and (e) grammar schools in each of the last three years.

Edward Timpson: The department has published information on the numbers of exclusions by detailed school type including maintained schools, academies, and free schools for 2012/13 to 2014/15, but not for community schools and foundation schools. These can be found in the underlying data of ‘Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England: 2014 to 2015’1 and are reproduced in the accompanying table. Exclusions figures for grammar schools are not published and are also included in the attached table.



Exclusions figures for grammar schools
(Excel SpreadSheet, 19.71 KB)

Holocaust Memorial Day

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department held a Holocaust Memorial event on Monday 16 January. All of the staff were invited to a talk given by Harry Spiro, a Holocaust survivor.

Schools: Food

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the proposed healthy rating scheme, outlined in Childhood obesity: a plan for action, published in August 2016, will include a criterion on compliance with school food standards for food served across the whole day.

Edward Timpson: We want schools to be supported to encourage pupils to lead healthier lifestyles.The Healthy Schools Rating Scheme will provide schools with the tools to assess how well they encourage their children to eat a nutritious diet and lead an active lifestyle, and how they can improve. Healthy eating will be a core strand of the scheme but the detailed criteria have not yet been developed. Over the next month, we will be exploring the design and delivery options further with potential suppliers through pre-market engagement discussions. Further details will be announced in due course.

English Baccalaureate

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to publish the findings and conclusions of its consultation on implementing the English baccalaureate.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many submissions were made to her Department's consultation on implementing the English baccalaureate.

Nick Gibb: We are considering the responses to the consultation on the implementation of the EBacc. We will publish the results of the consultation, including the number of responses and the Government response in due course.

Arts: Qualifications

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students in England studied art at (a) AS and (b) A-level in each of the last 10 years.

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students in England studied music at (a) AS and (b) A-level in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Gibb: The number of entries in art and design and music AS and A levels for 2015/16 (provisional) and each of the last 10 years are published in the A level and other 16 to 18 results: 2015 to 2016 (provisional) statistical first release[1]. Note that revised figures for 2015/16 are due to be published on 19th January 2017. 2007 to 2016[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-level-3-results-2015-to-2016-provisional(Subject time series table)

Pupil Exclusions

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2017 to Question 58806, if she will consider the merits of recording data on the improper reporting of pupil exclusions.

Edward Timpson: We do not believe that collecting information on the improper reporting of pupil exclusions is necessary, or would be practical. However, we will keep this under review.

Schools: Standards

Dr Tania Mathias: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to require Ofsted to make regular visits within three months to all schools that have been placed in special measures regardless of whether they have not changed their governance structure.

Nick Gibb: The Secretary of State has a duty to make an academy order for all local authority maintained schools that are judged by Ofsted to be inadequate. If an academy is judged to be inadequate, the Secretary of State has the power to transfer it to a stronger academy trust. In both cases, these academies will generally be inspected as new schools in their third year of operation. We believe it is right in these cases to allow the new academy trust the opportunity to turnaround what was a previously failing school before it is inspected by Ofsted.However, Ofsted will inspect schools at any time where information that they hold or receive causes sufficient concern.

Extended Schools

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to increase funding for schools from the public purse in order to expand breakfast clubs; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: It was announced in the March 2016 Budget that the government has committed to a £10 million a year programme to expand breakfast clubs in up to 1,600 schools from September 2017. Further details about the scheme will be announced in due course.

Schools: Finance

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will amend her Department's definition of sparsity in school funding criteria to specify that a school less than three miles from another school is not classed as a rural school.

Nick Gibb: The Government is committed to supporting small and remote schools which, due to their location, do not necessarily have the same opportunities to work as efficiently as other schools. 63% of respondents to our stage 1 schools national funding formula (NFF) consultation agreed with our proposal to include a ‘sparsity’ factor to target additional funding to schools that are small and remote. The Government’s response to the first stage NFF consultation is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/schools-national-funding-formula. We are now consulting on proposals for the amount of sparsity funding that eligible schools should receive. Under our proposals, small and remote schools would receive £27 million of funding through the sparsity factor, and 676 schools that do not currently receive any sparsity funding from their local authority would start to receive this funding. The second stage consultation runs until 22 March 2017 and the documentation can be found at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/funding-policy-unit/schools-national-funding-formula2/. We will make final decisions on the national funding formula following the conclusion of the consultation.

Nazi War Crimes: Education

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it remains her Department's policy to support the Holocaust Educational Trust's Lessons from Auschwitz Project.

Nick Gibb: The Department continues to believe that young people should be taught about the Holocaust and the lessons it teaches us today. We are committed to promoting, supporting and funding Holocaust Education. Since the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz project begun in 1999, it has taken more than 31,000 students and teachers to visit the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. The Government announced in April last year that we had renewed our grant for the project for a further three years.

Self-harm: Children

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to prevent children from self-harming due to social media.

Edward Timpson: Good mental health and wellbeing are a priority for this Department. We want all our children to fulfil their potential and we want to tackle the burning injustice of mental health problems, so that future generations can develop into resilient, confident adults, equipped to go as far as their talents will take them.Self-harm, which occurs in relation to a wide range of personal problems, emotional turmoil and psychiatric disorders, is a serious concern. Schools and colleges should take prompt action to deal with cases of self-harm; as a part of an integrated approach to supporting mental health and wellbeing.This Department has taken a range of actions to help schools and colleges to respond to and prevent self-harm. We have funded guidance and lesson plans on teaching about mental health in PSHE – which cover self-harm in an age-appropriate way. Training for teachers on self-harm is available through MindEd, a free online portal which has been developed to enable all adults working with children and young people learn more about specific mental health problems and how to support them.We recognise that teachers are not mental health professionals, and where more serious problems occur, schools and colleges should expect the pupil/student to get additional specialist support. We are extending the joint training pilot to improve collaborative working across schools and mental health services to include up to a further 1200 schools and colleges in an additional 20 areas.The Department has also produced the statutory guidance - Keeping Children Safe in Education – which schools and colleges must have regard to when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This guidance sets out that governing bodies and proprietors should ensure that children are taught about safeguarding, including online, through teaching and learning opportunities as part of a broad and balanced age-appropriate curriculum; and that governing bodies and proprietors should ensure that appropriate filters and monitoring systems are in place to protect children from accessing potentially harmful and inappropriate material online. The Department also requires all school and college staff to receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training and know what to do if they suspect a child is at risk of harm, including self-harm.In relation to internet safety, the new national curriculum computing programmes of study, introduced in September 2014, includes e-safety at all four key stages. There is progression in the content across the key stages to reflect the different and escalating risks that young people face as they get older.In September 2016 the Department announced £1.6m of funding over the next 2 years, for four anti-bullying organisations to support schools tackle bullying, including cyber bullying. Organisations include Internet Matters, who support the reporting of cyber bullying to schools, via an online platform which works on a range of media devices and allows young people, parents and carers to report bullying incidents to schools. (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/thousands-more-children-to-benefit-from-anti-bullying-app). We have also ensured that schools have the power to confiscate and examine mobile devices as part of dealing with bullying incidents.

Nurseries: Staff

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of nurseries in the private, voluntary and independent sector in each local authority employ at least one member of staff with early years practitioner or qualified-teacher status.

Caroline Dinenage: The Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey 2013 data shows that 59 per cent of full day care settings had at least one member of paid staff who was qualified to level 6 (degree level) or higher. This data is not available at a local authority level. Our latest workforce data on early years teachers and those with qualified teacher status working in early years settings is taken from the 2016 early years and schools census. The data is available in the Education provision: children under 5 years of age, January 2016 data release. This data provides the number and proportion of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) holders and early years teachers working with children aged 2, 3 and 4 who are accessing funded early education. This data shows an increase from 42% in 2015 to 43% in 2016 of PVI providers employing graduates working with funded 2 year olds. There has also been an increase from 47% in 2015 to 48% in 2016 of PVI providers employing graduate staff working with 3 and 4 year olds. These proportions represent increases in real numbers of early years teachers and QTS holders working with 2, 3 and 4 year olds. The picture across local authority areas is variable, and this data is available in tables 10LA and 11LA at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/education-provision-children-under-5-years-of-age-january-2016 The Government has committed to developing a workforce strategy that will set out what we will do to remove barriers to employers attracting, retaining and developing staff, including the graduate workforce.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the (a) amount and (b) proportion of government funding for early years provision that each local authority has retained in the latest period for which figures are available.

Caroline Dinenage: Data from local authority planned early years spend for 2016-17 is publically available and includes their planned central expenditure on central services and contingency. The data is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/planned-la-and-school-expenditure-2016-to-2017-financial-year This data is as reported by the local authorities.

Schools: Mental Health Services

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies on school-based mental health services of the findings of the Children's Society's Good Childhood report, published in August 2016.

Edward Timpson: Good mental health and wellbeing are a priority for the Department. The Good Childhood report emphasises some the challenges we face in tackling the burning injustice of mental health problems, so that children can fulfil their potential. The government is clear that improving mental health starts with ensuring that children and young people get the help and support they need and deserve, and has already committed to invest £1.4bn until 2020 to transform children and young people’s specialist mental health services. On 9 January the Prime Minister announced further activities to improve these services. These include joint working with the Department of Health on: the commissioning of a major country wide thematic review of children and adolescent mental health services, led by the Quality Care Commission, to identify what is working and what is not; and bringing forward a new green paper on children and young people’s mental health to set out plans to transform specialist services and support in education settings and for families. In addition, this Department will also take forward specific projects to extend our joint training pilot for single points of contact in education and CAMHS to up to 1200 more schools and colleges in 20 additional Clinical Commissioning Group areas; pilot a range of peer support programmes and approaches for schools, colleges, community groups and online; and launch a programme of randomised control trials of preventative programmes across three different approaches to prevention and promotion of good mental health and wellbeing. Since publication of the report I have met the Children’s Society to discuss the implications of the report for policy. We will continue to engage with the Children’s Society and other voluntary sector organisations as we develop the green paper jointly with the Department of Health, so that we can draw on the expertise and knowledge that they hold.

Pupil Exclusions

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of school-based mental health services in reducing levels of pupil exclusions.

Edward Timpson: Good mental health and wellbeing are a priority for the Department. We want all our children to fulfil their potential and we want to tackle the burning injustice of mental health problems, so that future generations can develop into resilient, confident adults, equipped to go as far as their talents will take them. Attainment is best supported if children have good mental health.Schools and colleges have an important role to play in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, through the development of approaches that suit the particular needs of their pupils. We are currently conducting a nationally representative survey of schools and colleges about what they offer to support the mental health of their pupils and students. The results should be available in the Spring and will provide national estimates of the proportion of schools and colleges which make different types of provision available to support the mental health of their pupils and students.We do not have evidence of the effect of such provision on exclusions, and there is a complex range of factors that can lead to exclusion. It is important that where issues arise the individual circumstances of each child are considered by the school. Statutory guidance on exclusions is clear that the decision to exclude a pupil must be lawful, reasonable and fair. Early intervention to address underlying causes of disruptive behaviour, should include an assessment of whether appropriate provision is in place to support any SEN or disability that the pupil may have. Head teachers should also consider the use of multi-agency assessment for pupils who demonstrate persistant disruptive behaviour. Such assessments may pick up unidentified special educational needs but the scope of the assessment could go further, for example, by seeking to identify mental health or family problems.It is for schools to decide what further support to provide where a pupils has emerging issues, but we have taken steps to support them in doing so. We have published a blueprint for school counselling services which provides schools with practical, evidence-based advice, informed by schools and counselling experts, on how to deliver high quality school-based counselling: www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools.To improve links with specialist services the Department worked with NHS England on a £3million pilot to provide joint training to schools and mental health staff to operate as single points of contact. This year we will be extending the pilot to up to 1200 schools across 20 clinical commissioning group areas to test whether the improvements in knowledge, identification and referral from the initial pilot can be delivered on a larger scale.

Schools: Mental Health Services

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of school-based mental health services for young people aged between 10 and 17.

Edward Timpson: Children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing is a priority for this Government. We want all our children to fulfil their potential and we want to tackle the burning injustice of mental health problems, so that future generations can develop into resilient, confident adults, equipped to go as far as their talents will take them. Attainment is best supported if children have good mental health.We are currently conducting a large-scale survey of schools and colleges about what they offer to support the mental health and wellbeing of their pupils and students. The results should be available in the Spring and will provide the first nationally representative estimates of the different types of support available in schools and colleges, as well as information about how this support is provided and how effective schools think it is.Schools are able to decide on, and make assessments of, the support they provide for their pupils, based on their individual needs. To support them to do this, we have provided a range of information, support, advice and guidance. This includes guidance on how to ensure school-based counselling services achieve the best outcomes for all students, including vulnerable children and young people; guidance on teaching about mental health within their PSHE curriculum; and providing teachers with access to free on-line support on a range of mental health issues via MindEd. We recognise that teachers are not mental health professionals, and where more serious problems occur, schools and colleges should expect to be able to access specialist support. This year we will be extending the pilot of joint training for single points of contact in schools and mental health services to test how it works on a wider scale. This pilot covered 27 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and 255 schools in 2015/16, the extension will cover up to a further 1200 schools and colleges in an additional 20 CCGs.

Ministry of Justice

Courts

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what measures her Department will put in place to provide continued access to court services for people who cannot access those services online after the implementation of the proposals outlined in its Transforming our Justice System consultation paper, published in September 2016.

Sir Oliver Heald: Access to justice is not just about proximity to a court and we are committed to providing alternative ways for our users to access our services that are more efficient and convenient for them.As we modernise our courts and bring more services online we will replace unfamiliar legal language with more straightforward wording. This will help make our services more accessible for everyone.All new online services will be developed to ensure users have access to facilities to assist them throughout the process. This will include; step-by-step online guidance to assist people when completing forms online, telephone support and free of charge, face to face support from an HMCTS representative. This will be available at locations across the country, including rural areas.We want a justice system that works for everyone. That means users who are not comfortable using digital channels will be provided with an alternative and given the support they need in choosing an option which works best for them.Crucially it will not be compulsory for the public to use digital channels.

The Big Word

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how her Department assesses the quality of service provided to it by The Big Word Ltd; and with what frequency such assessments take place.

Sir Oliver Heald: The Ministry is committed to ensuring the justice system is supported by a suite of high quality language services that meet the needs of all those that require them. The new language service contracts which began on 31 October 2016 and are subject to robust governance arrangements. These include monthly meetings with suppliers and stakeholders to monitor and discuss, in detail, the quality of the services being provided and performance against contractual performance indicators. The contracts also provide for the Ministry to audit the suppliers to verify the accuracy of contractual payments, management information, and compliance with contractual obligations. In addition, the Ministry has awarded a contract to 'The Language Shop' (part of the London Borough of Newham) to provide independent quality assurance of the services provided under the other contracts, including those awarded to the thebigword Ltd. The Language Shop undertakes this assurance in a number of ways, including managing the Ministry’s register of interpreters, conducting an annual audit of supplier processes for introducing new linguists, and a programme of 'spot checks' of interpreters undertaking assignments.

Private Prosecutions

Sir Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many private prosecutions have been brought by (a) the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, (b) the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, (c) the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and (d) individual private citizens in England and Wales in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Sir Oliver Heald: The information requested could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. Our case management and management information systems do not hold the level of detail to provide a total figure for each of the last three years for all of these categories of private prosecution. Providing this information would require the examination of individual case files held locally at courts.

Reoffenders: North East

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners released from prison in (a) Wansbeck constituency and (b) the North East have reoffended in each of the last three years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The requested information is not available by constituency. Data for the North East for 2014 is available.gov.uk. Data for 2015 and 2016 will be available in October 2017 and October 2018 respectively.

Prisoners: Per Capita Costs

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average cost per prisoner is.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) routinely publishes average costs per prisoner and prison place based on actual net resource expenditure for each private and public sector prison and in summary form for the whole of the prison estate in England and Wales on an annual basis after the end of each financial year. This information is available on gov.uk.

Community Rehabilitation Companies

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average amount paid to community rehabilitation companies is in (a) Wales and (b) England for the supervision of an offender on a 12-month order.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Contractual prices specific to each Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) are commercially sensitive. All CRCs are paid on the basis of volumes of offenders entering the system, reducing reoffending and services provided for offenders not allocated to them. The payment mechanism can be found in schedule 11 of their contracts with the Ministry of Justice, which are published on the contracts finder section of gov.uk. We are carrying out a comprehensive review of our probation reforms, including how we pay CRCs, to look at how we can improve upon the delivery of the service and improve outcomes for offenders and communities. We want to incentivise good resettlement outcomes to cut crime and protect the public.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for the latest year available, how many offenders supervised by the Community Rehabilitation Company in Wales missed (a) two, (b) three, (c) four, (d) five and (e) six or more appointments; and in how many cases in each categories the offenders were arrested and taken back to court.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders supervised by the Community Rehabilitation Company in Wales missed two or more appointments without good reason in 2015.

Mr Sam Gyimah: This information requested is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many unsuccessful applications for personal independence payments were appealed in 2016; and what proportion of those appeals were (a) ruled in favour of the appellant and (b) upheld by the tribunal.

Sir Oliver Heald: This information requested is not held centrally. Published national statistics on the Personal Independence Payment is available on gov.uk.

Legal Aid Agency: Labour Turnover

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of the wastage rate of staff employed by the Legal Aid Agency in each year since that agency's creation on 1 April 2013.

Sir Oliver Heald: The wastage rate of staff employed by the Legal Aid Agency is shown below.Twelve months to:Wastage rate31-Mar-146.5%31-Mar-154.6%31-Mar-164.6%30-Sep-164.6%

Birmingham Prison

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she has taken to implement the most recent IMB Annual Report on HM Prison Birmingham.

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she has taken to implement the IMB Annual Reports on prisons in England and Wales.

Mr Sam Gyimah: All Independent Monitoring Board annual reports for prisons are responded to by Ministers. Those responses set out what has or will be done to address issues identified by Boards. I wrote to the Chair of the Birmingham Board on 28 November 2016 in response to the concerns raised in their report. The long-standing challenges in our prison estate cannot be fixed overnight but the Justice Secretary and I are absolutely committed to making prisons places of safety and reform. We already embarking on a major recruitment drive to boost the frontline with 2,500 extra prison officers and are putting in place new security measures to tackle drones, phones and drugs, which undermine safety.

Community Rehabilitation Companies

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2016 to Question 54906, whether payments to a community rehabilitation company are reduced when an offender is returned to court having (a) committed a further offence or (b) failed to comply with a community order.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The number of offenders who have had their Community Order or Suspended Sentence Order revoked as a result of failure to comply or committing a further offence is monitored under the Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) contract. Underperformance against this measure can result in a Service Credit being applied. As detailed in the response to Question 54906, if a CRC fails to meet the required performance measure, we can require the CRC to pay a Service Credit to recompense for the minimum level of loss or damage as a result of a reduced provision of services. The application of Service Credits is a standard part of our contract management process. In addition, orders revoked as a result of reoffending may impact payments under contracted Payment by Results incentives.

Prisoners: Gender Recognition

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress her Department has made on implementing the recommendations of the review on the care and management of transgender offenders, published in November 2016 on the safeguarding of transgender prisoners on the prison estate.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The National Offender Management Service’s new Instruction ‘The Care and Management of Transgender Offenders’, published on 9 November 2016, drew on the conclusions of the Ministry of Justice Review of transgender offenders. It both replaced the earlier Prison Service Instruction and extended its scope to include transgender offenders in the community. The new Instruction was fully implemented on 1 January 2017, following a transitional period of operation. Staff are being supported in the implementation of the new arrangements through guidance and training. Our top priority is the welfare of those in our custody and following a thorough review, we have taken action to improve the way we manage and support transgender offenders. We are committed to making prisons places of safety and reform and have invested in specialist mental health training for prison officers as well as launching a suicide and self-harm reduction project.

Ministry of Justice: Labour Mobility

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civil servants in each unit of her Department are in the redeployment pool.

Sir Oliver Heald: My department does have a redeployment pool at present as we are in the process of a restructure. Staff are placed in redeployment as they are in a formal redundancy consultation process. The current number in this group is 122. Anyone in a redeployment pool undertakes meaningful work in support of key departmental priorities and must perform to the same standard as those in permanent roles.

Bail

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders of which offence type released from Crown courts on post-conviction bail subsequently failed to surrender for sentencing in the latest period for which figures are available.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of offenders were released from Crown courts on post-conviction bail for the offences of (a) murder, (b) rape, (c) manslaughter, (d) attempted murder and (e) child sex abuse in each of the last three years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Reliable information on post-conviction remand status for offenders convicted at Crown courts is not centrally held and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many personal independence payments appeal cases have been successful since the introduction of that benefit.

Sir Oliver Heald: The numbers of personal independence payment appeals found in favour of the appellant in each year since the benefit was introduced are available in national statistics on gov.uk. The most recent statistics for the period July to September 2016 can be viewed at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2016.

Repossession Orders

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many homes have been repossessed in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997.

Sir Oliver Heald: The following table provides a breakdown of the number of possessions actions in the county courts for the areas requested. Figures for the number of repossession actions by county court bailiffs prior to 2000 are not held centrally. County court bailiff mortgage possessions, by geographical breakdown2 requested, 20001 to 2015   Jarrow Constituency4South Tyneside Local Authority3North East3England and Wales32000......12,5402001......11,8132002......8,80020038164436,69220047243227,074200562342812,794200625621,00520,960200732711,44723,831200831712,18835,792200917332,34832,457201038801,66123,612201145942,01725,463201236741,36919,728201325691,19115,6922014153594411,976201517374805,592Source: Mortgage and Landlord Repossession Statistics Quarterly and the County Court Case Management System1. ‘..’ signifies the years that the data is not available 2. The above England and Wales possession geographical breakdown is derived from the address of the defendant (rather than the location of the court processing the claim). 3. These figures are available in the public domain (in Mortgage and Landlord Repossession Statistics Quarterly) 4. These figures have been extracted from the County Court Case Management System for the purpose of answer this PQ

Human Rights Act 1998

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect of repeal or reform of the Human Rights Act 1998 on the Belfast Agreement.

Sir Oliver Heald: The Government is committed to honouring the Belfast Agreement, and we shall ensure our proposals for a Bill of Rights are compatible with it.

Family Courts: Domestic Violence

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases in the family courts involved domestic violence in each year from 2010 to 2016.

Sir Oliver Heald: The information requested is not held centrally.We are determined to improve the family justice response to vulnerable witnesses and victims of domestic abuse in particular. Family judges have a range of powers to make sure difficult courtroom situations are handled sensitively for vulnerable witnesses and we continue to work with the judiciary to consider what additional protections may be necessary. We are particularly concerned about the fact that unrepresented alleged perpetrators of abuse can directly cross-examine their alleged victims in family proceedings. The Lord Chancellor is urgently considering how to put an end to this practice.

Courts: Domestic Violence

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent perpetrators of domestic violence from cross-examining in person the victims of that domestic violence and to ensure that contact between those perpetrators and those victims is prevented while they are within court buildings.

Sir Oliver Heald: We are determined to improve the family justice response to vulnerable witnesses, and victims of domestic abuse in particular. Family judges have a range of powers to make sure difficult courtroom situations are handled sensitively for vulnerable witnesses, and we continue to work with the judiciary to consider what additional protections may be necessary. We are particularly concerned about the fact that unrepresented alleged perpetrators of abuse can directly cross-examine their alleged victims in family proceedings. The Lord Chancellor is urgently considering how to put an end to this practice.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign nationals of which nationalities there were in prisons in England and Wales on 1 January 2017.

Mr Sam Gyimah: This data is published quarterly on gov.uk. The data as at 31 December 2016 is scheduled to be published on 26 January 2017.

Brexit: Crown Dependencies

Richard  Arkless: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what consultation process she has undertaken with the Crown Dependencies on the UK leaving the EU.

Sir Oliver Heald: I have had meetings with the Chief Ministers of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man in recent months, and visited Jersey in October 2016. In each of these meetings we discussed the concerns of the Crown Dependencies surrounding the UK’s exit from the European Union. In addition, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Exiting the European Union has agreed to hold quarterly meetings with the Chief Ministers of each of the Crown Dependencies. Two of these meetings have taken place and a third is scheduled for later this month. On 18th November 2016, my department made a submission to the Justice Select Committee on the implications of leaving the EU for the Crown Dependencies. This contains further information on how the UK Government plans to engage with the Crown Dependencies on this important issue.

Medomsley Secure Training Centre

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date officials from her Department plan to contact or meet the steering group of solicitors dealing with cases arising from Operation Seabrook.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Government Legal Department (GLD) is acting for the Ministry of Justice in relation to these cases. GLD is planning to meet the steering group committee next month, although the precise date for this meeting has yet to be finalised.

Special Educational Needs: Tribunals

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of First-Tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) users represented themselves as litigants in person in each quarter in each of the last 10 years; and in what proportion of those cases tribunals found in favour of those litigants in person.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of First-Tier Tribunal (Mental Health) users represented themselves as litigants in person in each quarter in each of the last 10 years; and in what proportion of those cases tribunals found in favour of the litigant in person.

Sir Oliver Heald: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Justice: EU Law

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which EU directives relating to her Department's responsibilities are awaiting transposition into UK law.

Sir Oliver Heald: There are no EU directives relating to Ministry of Justice responsibilities that are awaiting transposition into UK law.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of motor vehicle third party damage insurance claims heard in the courts included a claim for third party injury, by court area, in each of the last five years.

Sir Oliver Heald: This information requested could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Discipline

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prisoners have been removed from and (b) cells required repair as a result of incidents of indiscipline in each prison in each year since 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah: This information is not held centrally, to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

Prison Officers: Sick Leave

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers were on a leave of absence from work due to mental illness in each year from 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah: We are committed to ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of our staff including mental health. NOMS does not currently publish sickness absence rates for prison officers, but these will be published for the first time in the NOMS Workforce Bulletin on 16 February 2017.

Stun Guns: Convictions

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions there have been for the possession, purchase or acquisition without authority of (a) stun guns and (b) tasers under the Firearms Act 1968 in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: This specific information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Abduction: Children

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to ensure that there is provision in the agreement for the UK's withdrawal from the mechanism for the return of abducted children included in the Brussels II (a) Regulation to continue to apply after the UK's exit from the EU.

Sir Oliver Heald: Civil judicial cooperation, including on family law, is an important issue which is being considered as part of the UK's preparations for EU exit negotiations.As part of the negotiations with the EU, the Government will consider what other mechanisms are necessary for civil judicial cooperation with Member States after exit.

Environment Protection: Civil Proceedings

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the effect of the proposed changes to cost protections in environmental claims on (a) the number of environmental judicial review applications, (b) the proportion of successful environmental claims and (c) the UK's compliance with the Aarhus Convention and EU law.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the evidential basis was for the Government's finding in its consultation on Costs Protection in Environmental Cases of September 2015 that the existing environmental costs regime results in meritless applications which cause delay and frustrate proper decision making.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure environmental claims are not prohibitively expensive under its proposals to remove the fixed-cost cap.

Sir Oliver Heald: An impact assessment accompanied the Government’s response to the consultation on Costs Protection in Environmental Claims in England and Wales, published on 17 November 2016. A revised environmental costs protection regime will be introduced shortly. The new regime, which has been developed in the light of recent developments in case law, allows meritorious claims to be brought without prohibitive expense; it is clearly desirable to reduce the potential for unmeritorious claims.

Prime Minister

Parliamentary Private Secretaries: Visits Abroad

Chris Bryant: To ask the Prime Minister, how many parliamentary private secretaries she has authorised to travel overseas with or on behalf of their Ministers since she became Prime Minister.

Mrs Theresa May: I have not authorised overseas travel by any Parliamentary Private Secretary in an official capacity since I took Office.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: EU Law

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which EU directives relating to her Department's responsibilities are awaiting transposition into UK law.

Matt Hancock: The UK remains a member of the EU until we leave, with full rights and obligations of membership. This includes transposing EU legislation into UK law. There are no EU directives relating to the Department for Culture Media and Sports’ responsibilities that are awaiting transposition into UK law.

Sports: Young People

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to encourage young people to participate in a variety of sports; and what steps she is taking to ensure that opportunities are accessible to low income families.

Tracey Crouch: Sporting Future sets out how government will get more children from all backgrounds engaging in the sport and physical activity that interests and benefits them. Actions include lowering Sport England's remit down to 5+ to ensure that more young people are taking part in community sport, continued funding of both the School Games and the PE and Sport Primary Premium, and work to ensure that all children are able to swim and learn to ride a bike. As part of their strategy, Towards an Active Nation, Sport England will invest £40 million into creating new opportunities for families with children to get active and play sport together. Sporting Future sets out that future funding and work should focus on those who currently tend not to take part in sport, including those from lower socio-economic groups. Sport England will prioritise work and funding to get more people from low income families engaged in sport and physical activity.

Lotteries: Regulation

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to publish proposals to update the regulations governing society lotteries.

Tracey Crouch: The Government’s response to the CMS Select Committee’s report on society lotteries advised that it intended to explore all the recommendations further, with advice from the Gambling Commission. We are carefully considering the issues raised by the Select Committee and expect to make an announcement in due course.

Friends of the Earth: Leaflets

Mr Peter Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will ask the Charities Commission to investigate the implications for the charitable status of Friends of the Earth of the ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority on Friends of the Earth's fund-raising leaflets.

Mr Rob Wilson: The Charity Commission is the independent regulator and registrar of charities in England and Wales. It is a non-ministerial department and is independent of government and the sector it regulates. I understand from the Commission that it has received a complaint regarding the Friends of the Earth Trust Limited and is currently engaging with the charity. It is assessing the information provided to determine whether there are any regulatory concerns.

Broadband

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department plans to respond to the technical proposals produced by Ofcom on the designation of the universal service obligation for broadband.

Matt Hancock: A broadband USO will give households and businesses a legal right to request an affordable connection to broadband of a minimum specified speed, from a designated provider, no matter where they live or work, up to a reasonable cost threshold. On 16 December 2016 Ofcom published its technical advice to Government on the broadband Universal Service Obligation. We are carefully considering the report, and we will be hold a public consultation on the design of the USO once we have completed that.

UK City of Culture: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to visit Coventry following the launch of the UK City of Culture 2021 competition; and if she will make a statement.

Matt Hancock: The UK City of Culture 2021 represents an exciting opportunity to use arts and culture to celebrate a City and as a catalyst for economic and social regeneration. We welcome bids from towns and cities across the UK and, if bids are successful in being shortlisted, my officials will undertake a visit as part of the selection process. All Ministers undertake visits across the UK for a variety of reasons, which may include a city participating in the competition.

Department for Work and Pensions

Credit Unions

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2017 to Question 58730, on credit unions, what steps he plans to take to complete the expansion project for credit unions; how the £38 million will be allocated; and over what time period that allocation will take place.

Richard Harrington: The Contract to deliver the Credit Union Expansion Project was scheduled to end in December 2016. The Association of British Credit Unions Ltd (ABCUL) are delivering the Contract and has provided a proposal to extend the delivery timeline. To allow the proposal to be considered the Department has agreed an interim Contract extension to February 2017. To the end of December 2016, £30.8.m has been spent. Any remaining expenditure is subject to agreement on ABCUL’s proposal to extend the Contract and delivery of specific outcomes.

Universal Credit

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants his Department has written to since March 2016 to inform them that they may be affected by changes to the work allowances of universal credit.

Damian Hinds: We have contacted around 59,000 Universal Credit claimants. The actual number of claimants affected is expected to be significantly lower.

Work and Health Programme

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the number of employment coaches of the Work and Health Programme.

Penny Mordaunt: Significant Progress has been made in tackling unemployment, with dramatic falls in the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits, and in long-term unemployment.Contracted provision will continue to play a crucial role in offering support at the right time to those who have difficulty accessing the labour market. The Spending Review in October 2015 announced funding rising to at least £130 million a year by 2019/20 for the new Work and Health programme, including funding to be devolved to Scotland. Support will focus on people with a disability, early access for priority groups and the long term unemployed. We expect the majority of people who start the programme to have a disability. The number of employment coaches and other support required to deliver contracted employment support is a matter for providers. The process to select providers to deliver the Work and Health Programme is at an early stage and we expect potential providers to consider this as part of their service bids The Work and Health Programme will have no impact on the number of work coaches inDWP.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with disabilities use the Anniesland Jobcentre.

Damian Hinds: Holding answer received on 20 January 2017



The information requested is not available. However, there were 54 new claims made to Employment and Support Allowance at Anniesland Jobcentre in December 2016. It is worth noting that the extent to which people claiming Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefits are required to attend the Jobcentre will vary depending upon the specific requirements of the benefit they receive.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is his policy to retain the principle of exportability for state pensions when the UK leaves the EU.

Richard Harrington: UK State Pensions are payable worldwide under domestic legislation. There are no plans to change this policy.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has plans to estimate the number of disabled working age population in Glasgow South constituency to inform the equality impact assessment on the proposed closure of Glasgow jobcentres.

Damian Hinds: Holding answer received on 20 January 2017



The information as requested is not available. However, there are a total of 5,790 people claiming Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefits in Glasgow South constituency. It is worth noting that the extent to which they are required to attend the Jobcentre will vary, depending upon the specific requirements of the benefit they receive. The purpose of the equality analysis and public consultation is to help establish how many people are likely to be affected by these proposals, including disabled people of working age in Glasgow South constituency.

Work Programme

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether participants in the Work Programme are required to attend meetings at jobcentres during their work placement.

Damian Hinds: Throughout a participant’s time with their Work Programme provider, Jobcentre Plus will continue to see them to check they are meeting their conditions for claiming benefits, if applicable. It is the provider’s responsibility to ensure that nothing they require of participants prevents them from attending these appointments.

Work Programme

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the participants in the Work Programme receive a wage from employers in addition to their jobseeker's allowance payments during their placement.

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether employers who partake in the Work Programme pay national insurance contributions for participants in the programme.

Damian Hinds: Work experience undertaken through the Work Programme is unpaid. Participants will therefore remain on Jobseeker’s Allowance whilst participating on a work placement.As the placements are unpaid, employers are not required to pay National Insurance contributions for participants.

Work Programme

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether (a) employers and (b) his Department pays travel expenses for participants in the Work Programme.

Damian Hinds: It is the responsibility of Work Programme providers to pay a participant’s travel costs as travel expenses are included within the funding received from DWP as part of the overall contract package. Before starting a work placement the provider should discuss with the participant the practical arrangements for getting to and from the employer, including reimbursement of travel expenses.

Work Programme

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has put in place any provisions to ensure that participants in the Work Programme have sufficient time to continue their search for permanent employment.

Damian Hinds: Work Programme providers must ensure that any activities agreed do not prevent participants from being able to satisfy the conditions for receiving benefit, for example actively seeking work. Before starting a work placement providers are required to discuss with the participant arrangements for continuing their job search efforts.

Work Programme

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what provisions are in place to monitor the progress of individual participants in the Work Programme.

Damian Hinds: Providers have the freedom to develop their own processes to support participants, plan activity, manage and monitor their experience whilst on the Work Programme in line with their delivery model, contract terms and conditions and the provider’s minimum service standards.

Work Programme

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what maximum amount of time an individual can participate in the Work Programme.

Damian Hinds: Participants are supported by their Work Programme provider for up to 2 years.

Work Programme

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individuals (a) below and (b) above the age of 25 took part in the Work Programme in each year since 2011.

Damian Hinds: The information available for the number of Work Programme referrals, attachments and job outcomes, including by age, is published at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/:Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Work Programme

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what key performance indicators are used to measure the performance of the Work Programme.

Damian Hinds: The Department uses two main measures to monitor performance on the Work Programme. The main Departmental indicator is the proportion of claimants for whom providers have achieved a Job Outcome payment within 12 and 24 months of joining the Work Programme (endorsed by the UK Statistics Authority as the most appropriate measure to gauge Work Programme performance).

Work Programme

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding has been allocated to the Work Programme in each year since 2011.

Damian Hinds: The Work Programme spend for the years 2011/12 to 2015/16 is shown below. Future funding (including 2016/17) is not available as budgets are subject to on-going review as part of the continuous planning process and are dependent on contract performance. Budgets can/will be subject to change as a result of balancing the Department’s overall expenditure within its allocated envelope.   2011/122012/132013/142014/152015/16 SpendSpendSpendSpendSpend £m£m£m£m£mWork Programme283.2453.1635.9573.7416.4

Work Programme

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding has been allocated to the Work Programme in relation to the retail sector in each year since 2011.

Damian Hinds: Departmental funds spent on the Work Programme are not allocated to specific sectors and therefore this information is not available.

Work Programme

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many hours on average are worked each week by participants taking part in the Work Programme.

Damian Hinds: Work Programme participants do not undertake work unless they are on a work experience placement. Work experience will be over a short period, with restricted hours in recognition of the participant’s limited capability for work. To collate information on average hours worked whilst on a placement would exceed the disproportionate costs limit placed on parliamentary questions.

Work Programme

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many participants in the Work Programme were taken on by businesses in the retail sector as part of the Programme in each year since 2011.

Damian Hinds: Information regarding numbers of participants starting work experience within the Work Programme is not held centrally. To collate this information would exceed the disproportionate costs limit placed on parliamentary questions.

Work Programme

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people in the Work Programme are protected by the same employment rights as permanent full-time employees.

Damian Hinds: Providers must comply with their Duty of Care under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Act’s associated regulations for all Work Programme participants in the same way as they would for any other member of their workforce whether they are paid by them or not.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to replace funding from the European Social Fund committed to employment support initiatives after the UK leaves the EU; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Hinds: The Government has confirmed that it will guarantee EU funding for structural and investment fund projects signed before the UK’s departure from the EU, even when these projects continue after we have left the EU. As a result, British businesses and other organisations have additional certainty over future funding and should continue to apply for EU funding while the UK remains a member of the EU. There is considerable stability in the ESF programme, with around half of the programme budget (approximately £1.3bn) already committed. The Treasury announcement of 3 October 2016 provides us with a helpful degree of certainty in delivering the programme. Funding for projects will be honoured by the government, if they provide good value for money and are in line with domestic strategic priorities. In the longer term we will want to consider the future of all programmes that are currently EU funded. Leaving means we will make our own decisions about how to deliver the policy objectives previously targeted by EU funding. Each government department will take responsibility for the allocation of money to projects in line with these conditions and the wider rules on public spending. The full detail of the announcement can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/further-certainty-on-eu-funding-for-hundreds-of-british-projects

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding from the European Social Fund was committed to employment support projects in the last financial year.

Damian Hinds: Approximately £403 million from the European Social Fund (ESF), including the Youth Employment Initiative, was committed in the tax year 2015/2016 for funding employment support projects. This figure represents the value of Funding Agreements signed in respect of activity under Priority Axis (PA) 1 of the published Operational Programme for the European Social Fund for England 2014-20. PA 1 aims to increase participation in the labour market and thereby improve social inclusion and mobility. It supports: - Access to employment for jobseekers and inactive people;- Sustainable integration of young people;- Youth Employment Initiative (YEI);- Active inclusion and- Community Led Local Development. Please note the figure quoted is for the England ESF programme only. ESF is a devolved matter and is handled by the Managing Authorities in the Devolved Administrations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Department for Work and Pensions: Telereal Trillium

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what options Telereal Trillium has to dispose of or convert the usage of Caxton House under its estate contract with his Department.

Caroline Nokes: Telereal Trillium has no options to dispose of or convert the usage of Caxton House under this contract.

Department for Work and Pensions: Telereal Trillium

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he intends to maintain his Department's headquarters at Caxton House as part of the renegotiation of his Department's estate contract with Telereal Trillium.

Caroline Nokes: The department is in the process of reviewing all of its estates requirements as the current contract for most of the estate comes to an end on 31 March 2018. No decision has been made on the future of Caxton House by the department. It is important to remember that the Department has non-operational teams based in many different locations nationwide, with some large teams based in particular offices, including Caxton House. Commercial negotiations are underway on the entirety of our estate at this time and it is not appropriate to comment further on individual sites while negotiations are in progress.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many UK nationals in each other EU member state have received a state pension in each of the last five years.

Richard Harrington: No information is available concerning the number of UK nationals who are in receipt of a UK State Pension. This is because the UK State Pension is a contributory based pension, where nationality or citizenship do not form part of the eligibility criteria. The table below shows how many individuals, regardless of nationality, living in each other EU member state, received the State Pension as at May each year. COUNTRY20122013201420152016Austria5,3705,3805,4105,4205,390Belgium4,9805,1105,2005,3205,430Bulgaria6908109101,0101,150Croatia480530540560590Cyprus18,04018,38018,58018,70018,840Denmark2,7602,9403,1403,2803,400Estonia5060709090Finland1,1401,2401,3801,4601,570France57,63060,35062,84064,35066,100Germany39,08040,33041,33042,02042,820Greece5,5005,6505,8105,9605,970Hungary800820860870880Italy37,98038,17038,26037,44037,340Latvia130150180220250Lithuania180230310390460Luxembourg460500540570600Malta5,5005,8006,0706,2506,420Poland1,6001,8102,0602,3902,790Portugal9,3809,78010,07010,18010,580Republic of Ireland127,050130,190133,050133,970135,080Romania90110130150170Slovakia100150210280350Slovenia230260270300300Spain104,680106,850107,360107,980108,310Sweden4,3504,7505,1205,3905,660The Czech Republic420480550590660The Netherlands10,92011,60012,14012,62012,920 Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Horses: Dartmoor National Park

Mr Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the conclusions of her Department's investigations into the use of contraceptives for Dartmoor ponies.

George Eustice: We do not publish information on investigations undertaken by Defra Investigation Services given the confidential nature of such enquiries. However, we are considering an FOI request regarding the subsequent review that was carried out on the original investigation referred to by my Honourable Friend.

UK Trade with EU: Agriculture

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on food and farming exports in the event that the UK does not have tariff-free access to EU markets after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: Retaining tariff free access between the UK and the EU is a significant benefit to the food and farming sectors in both the UK and Europe. In 2015, the UK exported £7.5 billion of food to the EU, and imported £18 billion; for all agri-food and drink products this increases to £11 billion and £28 billion respectively. We aim to secure a mutually beneficial deal that delivers market access for the benefit of farmers and food manufacturers both in the UK and the EU.

Dogs: Animal Welfare

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to adopt the legislative recommendations made by the International Fund for Animal Welfare in its Standing up for puppies campaign better to protect puppies in the UK.

George Eustice: My Department is in the process of reviewing the animal establishment licencing schemes, including those that regulate the breeding and selling of dogs, with the aim of improving animal welfare and reducing burdens on businesses and local authorities. We note the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)’s campaign to ban third party sales of dogs. We consider that the best way forward is to improve welfare standards for both licensed dog breeders and pet sellers.

Common Agricultural Policy: Fines

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on how many occasions the UK has incurred EU disallowance fines relating to the Common Agricultural Policy in the last five years.

George Eustice: Since the beginning of 2012 the European Commission has published 14 Commission Implementing Decisions which include UK disallowance. This relates to 55 instances where the European Commission asserted that UK controls, across the four administrations, failed to meet the rules set by the EU.

Norfolk Island

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Australian counterpart on the constitutional status and sovereignty of Norfolk Island.

George Eustice: Defra has had no discussions with its Australian counterpart on the constitutional status and sovereignty of Norfolk Island.

Derelict Land: Walsall

Mr David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2016 to Question 54404, if she will estimate when the outcome of the Planning Inspectorate inquiry into the former Willenhall Gas Works will permit her to provide a substantive reply to that Question.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: I am aware that there are a number of interested parties attached to this case and we are working towards a decision in as timely a manner as possible.

Agriculture

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the potential change in cost required to deliver her Department's agricultural objectives after the UK has left the EU; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: Outside of the EU, we have an opportunity to redesign policies to better deliver on our objectives. My department is carrying out initial analysis on future agricultural policy that will, in due course inform cost assessments. However, in advance, we will shortly be publishing for consultation two Green Papers setting out our ambitions for food and farming and for the environment to inform these important decisions.

Farmers: Income

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the proportion of income of farmers and growers which was directly provided by EU sources of funding in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: In terms of EU direct payments to farmers under Pillar 1 of the Common Agricultural Policy, the table below contains figures from Defra’s ‘Agriculture in the UK’ 2015 Publication which show the relationship between: the Total Income From Farming in the UK in the last five years and the total amount of EU funded payments under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and the predecessor Single Payment Scheme (SPS) in the UK over the past five years £billion (current prices)20112012201320142015Total Income from Farming5.0434.6205.3675.2853.769Total Direct Payments from BPS/SPS2.8052.6002.6912.3362.176 Based on these figures, the average value of direct payments from the Basic Payment Scheme and Single Payment Scheme equates to approximately 53 per cent of Total Income from Farming in the UK over the last five years. This excludes any figures associated with EU co-financed agri-environment schemes which compensate for costs incurred and income foregone.

Thames Water: Compensation

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that Thames Water customers affected by water outages and burst water pipes receive full compensation.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The regulatory framework governing the water sector in England ensures that water customers affected by outages and burst water pipes can receive compensation if the water supply is not reconnected promptly. The Guaranteed Standards Scheme requires companies to pay customers where they fail to meet minimum service standards. For water supply not restored within 48 hours, the GSS sets a minimum payment of £20 to domestic customers and £50 to business customers. These Standards can be viewed in full at www.ofwat.gov.uk/households/supply-and-standards/standards-of-service. Where flooding occurred, Thames Water sent loss adjusters to work with local residents and businesses to ensure they were not left out of pocket by the bursts.

Rivers

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the Environment Agency plans to proceed with the pilot projects to investigate transferring the management of some stretches of main rivers and associated assets to other risk management authorities or communities where there is local support.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Defra is currently working with the Environment Agency (EA) to consider proposals to change the designation from “main river” to “ordinary watercourse” in a number of locations, where there is local support. The EA is working closely with local interested parties and will keep them updated on progress.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Affordable Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the research he commissioned to support changes to affordable housing announced in the Autumn Statement 2016.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the impact assessment for the changes to affordable housing announced in the Autumn Statement 2016.

Gavin Barwell: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave him on 16 January 2016 to Question 59492.

Affordable Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department made of the potential merits of funding homes for social rent in advance of the publication of the Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme 2016 to 2021: Addendum to the Prospectus, published in January 2017; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the modelling, workings and data on which that assessment was based.

Gavin Barwell: The assessment of the changes to affordable housing funding, including the availability of the funding for affordable homes for rent, was carried out as part of the Autumn Statement process. The fiscal impact of the changes on public finances was included as part of the OBR’s policy costings for Autumn Statement 2016 which can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/571402/Policy_Costings_AS_2016_web_final.pdfAffordable Rent was introduced in 2011 to maximise taxpayers’ money, providing more homes for every pound of Government investment, so more people in housing need can have access to a good quality home at a sub-market rent. An Impact Assessment was carried out when the policy was introduced, and is publicly available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/6021/1918816.pdf

Owner Occupation

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the levels of home ownership have been in (a) Leeds East constituency, (b) Leeds, (c) West Yorkshire and (d) the UK in each year since 2010.

Gavin Barwell: The Department’s latest English Housing Survey provides information on the rates of home ownership in England. In 2014/15, home ownership stood at 64%. The Department does not provide a breakdown of the rates of home ownership by regions or constituencies. The Survey is available through the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/english-housing-survey-2014-to-2015-headline-reportSince 2010, over 362,000 households have been helped to purchase a home through Government backed schemes including Help to Buy and Right to Buy. But we have not been building enough homes as a country for decades. The Government will soon be publishing a White Paper outlining further measures to tackle the housing shortage.

Council Tax and Non-domestic Rates: Dorset

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the level of (a) council tax arrears and (b) non-domestic rate arrears was on 31 March 2016 in (i) Purbeck District Council, (ii) North Dorset District Council, (iii) West Dorset District Council and (iv) Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Temporary Accommodation: Dorset

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many households were living in temporary accommodation paid for by (a) Bournemouth Borough Council, (b) Poole Borough Council and (c) Christchurch Council on (i) 31 March 2016 and (ii) the most recent date for which information is available.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Council Tax

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the (a) minimum and (b) maximum number of years will be for which council tax spending will be assessed for the purpose of regulations setting a threshold to trigger a local referendum under the Local Government Finance Bill.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Non-domestic Rates

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the maximum size of area will be as measured by population in which pooling of non-domestic sites will be permitted under provisions of the Local Government Finance Bill.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Homelessness Reduction Bill

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the full impact assessment used to determine funding for the Homelessness Reduction Bill.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 17 January 2017, HCWS 418, if he will publish the evidential basis for the estimate that savings made by local authorities as a result of the Homelessness Reduction Bill will fully offset any additional costs to local authorities by 2019-20.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 17 January 2017, HCWS 418, if he will publish the evidential basis used to determine the level of funding to local government to meet the new burden costs associated with the Homelessness Reduction Bill.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Written Ministerial Statement of 17 January 2017, HCWS 418 confirmed that the Government will provide £48 million to local government to meet the new burdens costs associated with the Homelessness Reduction Bill over the course of the Spending Review. This reflects the cost of the Bill in its current form. The Department will continue to work with the Local Government Association and local authorities on the development of the distribution model for the funding to determine the amount to be received by each area. The full new burdens assessment will be published once this is complete and the Bill is in its final form.

Temporary Accommodation: Southwark

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the average length of stay in temporary accommodation was for households in the London Borough of Southwark in (a) 2010, (b) 2015 and (c) 2016.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ministry of Defence

Yemen: Cluster Munitions

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information the Government holds on (a) the type and model of aircraft used to deploy BL-755 munitions in Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition, (b) the squadron of which those aircraft are part, (c) the number of UK nationals who provide support services to those aircraft in each squadron, (d) the number of employees of UK companies who provide support services to those aircraft in each squadron and (e) the roles fulfilled by those UK nationals and employees.

Sir Michael Fallon: Holding answer received on 20 January 2017



The Coalition has not confirmed which aircraft or Coalition member dropped BL-755 munitions in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia: Cluster Munitions

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what work was carried out from 1986 to 2008 as contracted manpower support to Saudi Arabia for the maintenance, handling and storage of 500 BL-755 cluster munitions supplied to that country between 1986 and 1989.

Sir Michael Fallon: Holding answer received on 20 January 2017



The Royal Saudi Air Force has responsibility for the maintenance, handling and storage of its munitions. Contracted manpower support in respect of cluster munitions was withdrawn in 2008.

Defence: Infrastructure

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 January 2017, Defence Infrastructure Reform, what planned savings in running costs are expected in each of the 10 years of the programme.

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 January 2017, Defence Infrastructure Reform, what capital (a) investment is planned to be made and (b) receipts are planned to be realised in each of the 10 years of the programme.

Mark Lancaster: As set out in the Better Defence Estate strategy published in November 2016 the Ministry of Defence will be investing £4 billion over 10 years to create a Defence estate which supports capability by being of better quality, more cost effective and efficient, as well as 30% smaller overall by 2040.The strategy will also derive savings of more than £140 million in running costs over ten years, rising to nearly £3 billion by 2040, which can be re-invested back into Defence.The profile across the 10-year programme of planned costs, savings and receipts is being refined to support the investment approval decisions for the implementation programmes.The recommendations of our review into how the estate is managed and infrastructure decisions taken across Defence, which were set out in my Written Statement of 13 January 2017 (HCWS410), will help ensure that every pound we spend on our estate represents optimum value for money.

HMS Queen Elizabeth

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when in 2017 he expects HMS Queen Elizabeth to begin platform sea trials.

Harriett Baldwin: HMS Queen Elizabeth is expected to undergo sea trials this summer.

Nuclear Submarines

Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that Britain's nuclear submarine fleet systems have robust and up-to-date operating systems installed in place of Windows XP.

Harriett Baldwin: We continually assess the capability of the United Kingdom's nuclear submarine fleet to ensure its operational effectiveness and to maintain resilience against potential threats.I am withholding information on the specific systems used by our submarines as disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our Armed Forces.

Ministry of Defence: Iron and Steel

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, (a) how much steel in weight his Department has procured, (b) for what purpose that steel was procured and (c) what the countries of origin of that steel were in each of the last five years.

Harriett Baldwin: The Ministry of Defence does not hold a complete central record of the volume and origin of steel used in defence projects by our prime contractors over the last five years.The largest project, the aircraft carriers, has used 95,000 tonnes of steel, 88%of which was British. The Government has published its future pipeline for steel requirements in December 2016, which indicates the quantities of steel expected to be required for major projects, including defence. This will enable UK steel manufacturers to better plan and bid for Government contracts. The pipeline is published on gov.uk at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-1116-procuring-steel-in-major-projects-revised-guidance.The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has also published updated policy guidance on steel procurement in major Government projects. This aims to ensure that the public sector, including defence, takes full account of the value provided by UK steel producers when conducting procurement activities. BEIS is working closely with Departments to monitor its impact and ensure compliance.

Burma: Military Aid

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2017 to Question 59322, what information his Department holds on whether personnel in the Burmese Army who were trained by courses funded by the Government have been accused of committing human rights violations against the Rohingya people.

Mike Penning: The Ministry of Defence does not hold information on whether the personnel in the Burmese Army who have received training on courses funded by the Government have been accused of committing human rights violations.

Burma: Military Aid

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2017 to Question 59322, what role the respect of human rights plays in the training provided to the Burmese Army.

Mike Penning: The educational training provided to the Burmese Army aims to promote an awareness of the role and responsibilities of the military within a democratic system, and respect of human rights is implicit in the programmes delivered. There is currently no specific programme module within this training which focuses on the issue of human rights.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which of the army's regiments he plans will receive the first Ajax armoured fighting vehicle.

Harriett Baldwin: The King’s Royal Hussars are planned to be the first Field Army unit to receive AJAX in 2019.

Burma: Military Aid

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether UK funding to the Burmese army is conditional upon their commitment to an agreed plan to improve human rights in Burma.

Mike Penning: The UK does not provide funding to the Burmese Army. We do however fund and provide educational training to the military which aims to promote an awareness of the role and responsibilities of the military within a democratic system, this training includes international humanitarian law and ethics in leadership. All engagement with the Burmese military is discussed with, and approved by, the democratically elected civilian government. We keep all defence engagement activity under constant review.

Warships

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what was the designated Fleet Ready Escort or Escorts from 15 December 2016 to 14 January 2017.

Mike Penning: Two ships were designated as the Fleet Ready Escort between 15 December 2016 and 14 January 2017. These were the Type 23 frigates HMS SOMERSET and HMS ST ALBANS.

Defence

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2017 to Question 59887, what measures will be included in the refresh of defence industrial policy.

Harriett Baldwin: The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review committed to refresh defence industrial policy and outline the further steps that the Ministry of Defence would take to help the UK Defence industry to grow and compete successfully. We are examining how we engage and do business with industry and how we take account of economic and international considerations in our acquisition choices. On 6 January we concluded a period of formal industry consultation and we are now analysing the responses.This work will be aligned with parallel Defence initiatives on innovation and ship building, and wider Government work on the National Industrial Strategy, a green paper on which is being launched today.

Marines

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Order of Battle, the effective strength and the basing locations of the Royal Marines are.

Mike Penning: As at 19 January 2016 the Order of Battle for the Commando Brigade is:3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines (Cdo Bde RM)HQ 3 Cdo Bde RM40 Cdo RM42 Cdo RM43 Cdo Force Protection Group (Gp) RM45 Cdo Gp RMCdo Logistics Regiment (Regt) RM30 Cdo IX Gp RM24 Cdo Engineer Regt (Army)29 Cdo Regt Royal Artillery (Army) The published Full Time Trained Strength of the Royal Marines as at 1 December 2016 was 6,630. The following table lists the main basing locations of the Royal MarinesUNITLOCATIONHQ Commander Amphibious ForcesPortsmouth3 Commando Brigade Royal MarinesPlymouth40 Cdo RMTaunton42 Cdo RMPlymouth43 Cdo Force Protection Group (Gp) RMFaslane45 Cdo RMArbroathCdo Logistics Regiment (Regt) RMBarnstaple/Bovington30 Cdo IX Gp RMPlymouth24 Cdo Engineer Regt (Army)Barnstaple29 Cdo Regt Royal Artillery (Army)Plymouth1 Assault Group RMPlymouthCommando Helicopter ForceYeoviltonCommando Training Centre RMExmouthRoyal Marines ReservesLondon, Bristol, Liverpool, GlasgowRoyal Marines Band ServicePortsmouth, Plymouth, Exmouth, Rosyth Note: There are discreet numbers of Royal Marines in other areas of Defence.

Army: Recruitment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on meeting Army annual recruiting targets this year.

Mike Penning: Steady progress has been made during 2016-17 in order to meet the Army's future manning requirements.The Army continues to offer exciting opportunities that inspire the best of our young people and is investing in recruitment to attract the diverse and talented workforce it needs now and for the future A new marketing campaign 'This Is Belonging' was launched on 7 January 2017 across multiple platforms, including television.

Reserve Forces: Recruitment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on meeting Future Reserves 2020 recruiting targets in each of the three services.

Mark Lancaster: The Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) programme continues to see growth in the Reserves, and greater integration of our Regular and Reserve forces. As at 1 December 2016, the trained strength of the FR20 population was 30,800. Full details of intake to the FR20 population, including a breakdown by Service, are published at the following address:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-armed-forces-monthly-service-personnel-statistics-index

HM Treasury

Beer: Excise Duties

Fiona Bruce: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the higher rate of duty on high-strength beer introduced in 2011 on reducing consumption of that beer; and what assessment he has made of the potential effectiveness of similar measures in reducing the consumption of high-strength cider.

Jane Ellison: The Government keeps all taxes under review, including alcohol duties, and is always willing to consider any evidence in relation to alcohol taxation policy.

Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Mark Durkan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions officials of his Department have had with officials of the Northern Ireland Executive on (a) the Autumn Statement 2015 and (b) the settlement letter referring to the costs of Northern Ireland's non-domestic renewable heat incentive scheme.

Mark Durkan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether discussions that officials of his Department had with officials of the Northern Ireland Executive included (a) budgetary challenges facing the Executive during 2015 and (b) the escalated spending exposure under the Northern Ireland non-domestic renewable heat incentive scheme.

Mr David Gauke: Treasury officials regularly discuss matters of mutual interest with their counterparts in the devolved administrations. At relevant points in time, those discussions will have covered each of the matters highlighted.

EU Budget: Contributions

Andrew Gwynne: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to fund the commitments the UK has made to the EU after the UK has left the EU.

Mr David Gauke: The arrangements for withdrawal from the EU, including from the budget, will be a matter for the withdrawal agreement as part of the Article 50 process. These issues affect both sides, the UK and the EU. The government will not be giving a running commentary on the details.

Child Benefit

Anna Turley: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure the appropriate administration of payments of child benefit in circumstances where there are disputes relating to which parent receives payment.

Jane Ellison: Where there are disputes relating to which parent receives payment of Child Benefit, HM Revenue and Customs will consider each claim in line with its guidance, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/child-benefit-technical-manual/cbtm08030 The GOV.UK website also provides advice for people involved in these cases at: https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-child-lives-with-someone-else

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Telephone Services

Royston Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to introduce 0800 and other free numbers for public helpline services to government departments and agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer: In October 2015 the Government published guidance on department’s use of telephone prefixes and free numbers which can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/470411/20151006_Customer_phone_lines_draft_guidance_October_2015.pdfDepartments are responsible and accountable for their choice of number prefix, supported by an appropriate numbering policy position. Where appropriate, departments must justify exceptions to the guidance.

Government Departments: Mobile Phones

Royston Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Government has to introduce a texting service for the public to contact or respond to helpline services to government departments and agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Gummer: Government develops services based on research into user needs. Services do not go public unless they can demonstrate during Service Assessment that they have met user needs in line with the Digital Service Standard, including methods for user support and contact. Where Government has a shared need, the Government Digital Service can develop products that can be reused across departments and agencies. For example, GOV.UK Notify was developed to make it easier and more efficient to keep people updated, by helping service teams across government to send text messages, emails or letters to their users. We do not currently have plans to develop a texting service for users to contact or respond to helpline services.

Mortality Rates

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of trends in death rates for people aged 75 and over in each of the last five years; and what steps his Department has taken to investigate the reasons for any change in such death rates.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - Life Expectancy
(PDF Document, 133.95 KB)

Life Expectancy

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the change to the life expectancy of (a) men and (b) women at age (i) 75 and (ii) 85 in each of the last five years.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - Life Expectancy
(PDF Document, 236.73 KB)

Department for International Trade

Overseas Trade

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how the Government plans to ensure that exporters from developing countries continue to have access to the UK market under their existing terms after the UK leaves the EU.

Mark Garnier: The UK believes in a free and open approach to trade. The Government is committed to ensuring developing countries can reduce poverty through trading opportunities. The Department for International Trade is working closely with other government Departments to ensure that as we prepare to leave the EU we consider all opportunities to support developing countries and recognise the need for a smooth transition which minimises disruption to our trading relationship.

Department for International Trade: Visits Abroad

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2016 to Question 52244, which countries he and Ministers of his Department have visited since 14 November 2016.

Mark Garnier: Since 14 November 2016, my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade and his Ministerial team have undertaken a total of 15 overseas visits to 18 countries. Details of these visits are listed in the attached Annex.



Details of Overseas Visits
(Word Document, 14.74 KB)

Trade Promotion

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the locations are of permanent UK trade offices outside the UK.

Mark Garnier: The UK has permanent Trade Offices in 108 overseas markets and has operations in 175 locations across those markets. Following the machinery of government changes after the appointment of the Prime Minister in July 2016, updated details of Trade Offices will be published in due course. In the meantime, details can be found within the Exporting country guides on Gov.uk.

House of Commons Commission

House of Commons: Staff

Tim Farron: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many House staff are nationals of an EU country other than the UK.

Tom Brake: For the purpose of security clearance all staff have to declare a nationality. The Pass Office database shows that the House of Commons including bi-cameral departments holds security clearance and passes for a total of 2,653 staff. 153 of these have declared a nationality of an EU country other than the UK. This equates to 5.77%.

Northern Ireland Office

Armed Forces: Northern Ireland

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the peace process in Northern Ireland of pursuing prosecutions against former members of the armed forces for activities in Northern Ireland which occurred prior to the Good Friday Agreement.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the public interest in pursuing prosecutions against former members of the armed forces for activities in Northern Ireland which occurred prior to the Good Friday Agreement.

James Brokenshire: Responsibility for policing and justice matters in Northern Ireland has been devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive since April 2010. All decisions on prosecutions are taken independently of Government and in accordance with the Code for Prosecutors. As I have made very clear in a number of statements, I am concerned that the existing mechanisms for investigating incidents which occurred during the Troubles are disproportionately focused on the actions of the Armed Forces and former police officers, rather than the terrorists who were responsible for 90 per cent of deaths. This is wrong and it has to change. That is why this Government supports the full and faithful implementation of the Stormont House Agreement, which would see a move to a new system that would, under legal obligations, operate in ways that are fair, balanced and proportionate. The proposed new institutions, set out in the Stormont House Agreement, have a number of important advantages over the system currently in place in Northern Ireland, including that they will consider deaths in chronological order. This will ensure that outstanding investigations into terrorist murders, including the murder of 185 soldiers, are investigated and evidential leads are pursued.

Department of Health

Department of Health: Overseas Aid

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on overseas development aid projects in each of the last 10 years; and what the (a) value, (b) nature and (c) outcome was of each project.

Nicola Blackwood: The Department’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend is reported in annual United Kingdom Government statistics on international development, which includes any spend on overseas development aid projects. The most recent information on the Department of Health’s ODA spend, for 2015, was published by the Department for International Development in their November 2016 publication Statistics on International Development 2016. A copy is attached.  Prior to 2015 the Department of Health did not make any specific payments for overseas aid projects through the ODA; the only contribution was for the World Health Organization annual subscription. 



Statistics on International Development 2016
(PDF Document, 2.64 MB)

Accident and Emergency Departments: Older People

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that frail or elderly people are not disproportionately affected by winter pressures on accident and emergency services.

David Mowat: We recognise that the frail and elderly are particularly vulnerable during this time of year and we are determined to ensure that the National Health Service is focused on delivering for these patients.Under the seasonal flu immunisation programme, the flu vaccine is offered to everyone over the age of 65 to help them keep well during the winter. Already over 69% of people aged over 65 have received the flu vaccination. In October 2016, NHS England and Public Health England launched ‘Stay Well This Winter’, a major prevention and advice campaign to encourage people to stay well over winter and access the most appropriate services at the right time. In addition, the establishment of the Better Care Fund (BCF), to better manage care for the elderly and those with complex health and care needs, will help join up health and care services to improve care and reduce accident and emergency admissions. In 2016/17, the BCF has increased to a mandated minimum of £3.9 billion and local areas have pooled more, taking the total to approaching £6 billion.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions Ministers of his Department have had with their Ministerial counterparts at the Department for Education on how schools and child and adolescent mental health services can work more closely together.

Nicola Blackwood: The Department of Health and Department for Education are working closely together to deliver the vision set out in Future in Mind, published jointly by both Departments, to improve children and young people’s mental health. This includes work with NHS England in 2015-16 on a £3 million pilot to provide joint training to schools and child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) staff and to test how having single points of contact in both schools and CAMHS can improve referrals to specialist services The Prime Minister announced on 9 January that later this year the Departments will jointly produce a Green Paper on children and young people’s mental health and that we will support schools and the National Health Service in developing closer working by evaluating models and approaches, to explore the impact closer working can have.

Radiotherapy

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients NHS England agreed to the treatment of by Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) under Service Specification BOI/S/c(SIRT) of the Commissioning through Evaluation (CtE) process; and how many patients they plan to be treated with SIRT before the CtE assessment period begins.

David Mowat: NHS England estimates that 150-200 metastatic colorectal cancer patients per year and 15-20 intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma patients per year could be eligible to access Selective Internal Radiation Therapy through the Commissioning through Evaluation programme at the time of designing the scheme. It is expected that over 500 patients will be recruited to the programme by the end of March 2017.

Mental Health Services

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which countries his Department uses for the purposes of international comparators on public policy provisions with regard to mental health treatments.

Nicola Blackwood: The Department has worked closely with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on its work to develop international comparisons across all areas of health policy. The OECD Health at a Glance 2015 report on the quality of care for mental health includes a comparison with other nations across the OECD:http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/social-issues-migration-health/health-at-a-glance-2015/care-for-people-with-mental-health-disorders_health_glance-2015-52-en#.WHytH9KLSUk#page3

Medical Treatments Abroad: Europe

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on average, how much, per patient his Department paid for the treatment of a patient abroad under the European Health Insurance Card in (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015 and (d) 2016.

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) Scottish residents and (b) other UK residents are registered holders of a European Health Insurance Card.

David Mowat: The Department does not hold information about how much, per patient, it has paid for the treatment of people who have used their United Kingdom European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) to obtain state provided healthcare in another European Economic Area country. This is because data on UK EHIC usage is recorded by individual treatment episode.As of the end of December 2016 there are 2,096,303 active EHICs in circulation which are issued to an address in Scotland and 24,547,214 active EHICs in circulation issued to an address in the rest of the UK.

Sexually Transmitted Infections: Older People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce rates of sexually-transmitted disease among the 50 to 70 age group.

Nicola Blackwood: The Government’s Framework for Sexual Health Improvement (2013) set out the ambition for improving sexual health and wellbeing of the population including continuing to reduce the rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Since 2013, local authorities have been mandated to provide genitourinary medicine and integrated services for the early diagnosis and treatment of STIs; these services are open-access with no upper age limit. STI prevention programmes are the responsibility of local authorities, and there are a variety of local initiatives underway across England. Public Health England commissions a number of key partners to deliver services that aim to improve the sexual health of the population and include the HIV Prevention programme for most at-risk populations and national sexual and reproductive health information service. Both contracts deliver on behalf of Public Health England information and promotion of safer sexual behaviour that aims to empower individuals to make sustainable and safer sexual health choices. The materials and resources provided by both contracts are accessible to all adults.

Pregnancy: Sodium Valproate

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking through the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to ensure that all women of child-bearing age who are prescribed Valproate have received the new guidance on the use of that treatment.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether GPs are required to (a) record and (b) report each instance when they have warned a female patient of the dangers of prescribed Valproate.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how (a) his Department and (b) the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency will be alerted when all concerned women have been warned of the dangers of prescribed Valproate.

Nicola Blackwood: Valproate is an effective treatment for epilepsy and bipolar disorder but should only be used in girls and women of childbearing potential if other treatments are ineffective or not tolerated. For some women there may be no other treatment option. When it was authorised, valproate was known to have risks in pregnancy. The statutory Patient Information Leaflet which accompanies the medicine provides up-to-date detailed information on the risks of valproate in pregnancy. Because of ongoing concerns about women’s awareness of the risks, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has worked with professional bodies, voluntary organisations and patient groups to develop a set of materials to aid communication between health professionals and women and girls.The valproate toolkit comprises booklets for healthcare professionals and a checklist for prescribers; a reminder card to be provided by pharmacists to patients when the product is dispensed; a guide for women; and clear package labelling carrying a prominent warning about use in pregnancy. It was widely disseminated to relevant healthcare professionals from February 2016 including through a Central Alerting System (a web based cascade system for issuing alerts to the National Health Service), the MHRA’s Drug Safety Update bulletin and in hard copy from the marketing authorisation holders. Electronic copies of the toolkit are hosted on several websites, including the Electronic Medicines Compendium. In addition the MHRA has worked, and continues to work with, a coalition of stakeholders including Royal Colleges, professional bodies, patient groups, relevant charities and health system organisations, including clinical commissioning groups, to increase awareness of the toolkit among general practitioners, pharmacists and patients, through a variety of communication channels.In order to monitor the effectiveness of the valproate toolkit, the MHRA continues to work with all stakeholders to gather feedback that demonstrates the toolkit materials are being used. This includes working with voluntary organisations and patient groups to produce online patient surveys to measure awareness of the risks among patients. Furthermore, the MHRA is conducting a study using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink to track changes in prescribing of valproate to women and girls following the communications to healthcare professionals and patients on the risks of valproate in pregnancy. The marketing authorisation holder is conducting Europe-wide studies to measure the changes in patterns of prescribing and the awareness of healthcare professionals of the risks. The available data will be brought together in a regularly updated dashboard that will be used to track the impact of the communications on patient and professional awareness over time. All doctors are expected to comply with good practice set out in General Medical Council (GMC) guidance. The GMC prescribing guidance states that doctors should reach agreement with the patient on the treatment proposed, explaining the likely benefits, risks and burdens, including serious and common side effects. Doctors should report any adverse reactions to medicines through the Yellow Card Scheme.

Hospital Beds

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2017 to Question 59597, on hospital beds, how many patients' discharge was delayed because there was no care package in their own home or place in a care home in November 2016.

David Mowat: The information requested is published by NHS England in a national time series at:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/delayed-transfers-of-care/2016-17-data/

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department paid to each other EU member state for costs related to the medical treatment for UK nationals in each of the last five years; and how many cases of (a) emergency medical care under the European Health Insurance Card system and (b) other treatment those costs relate to.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Department on behalf of the United Kingdom Government reimburses other European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland for the cost of providing treatment to people we are responsible for under European Union law, irrespective of nationality. In the same way, other EEA countries and Switzerland reimburse the UK for the cost of the National Health Service providing treatment to people they are responsible for under EU law, including UK nationals insured in another EEA country or Switzerland. Member States claims against the UK are in local currency so totals are significantly affected by the exchange rate at the time of payment and can mean a difference of millions of pounds. Member States can submit claims up to 18 months in arrears so claims for any 12 month period do not necessarily reflect treatment provided in that period. It is not possible to separate out claims to the UK from other EEA countries solely linked to European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) usage. Claims to the UK for treatment relating to EHICs are included in a larger category which also includes pre-authorised planned treatments and coverage for posted and frontier workers. Requested figures are provided in the attached document.



PQ60662 attached document
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.35 KB)

Mental Health Services: Private Sector

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the NHS of NHS mental health patients being treated in non-NHS institutions has been in each of the last three years.

Nicola Blackwood: The data is not available in the format requested.

Psychiatry: Training

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many Specialist Training 4 psychiatry posts were filled in each year since 2010.

Nicola Blackwood: The table below sets out the number of posts filled at Specialty Training 4 (ST4) for psychiatric specialties. Prior to 2013, when Health Education England took responsibility for recruitment to medical specialty training, information was not collected centrally and is not available.  Specialty2016201520142013ST4 entryAcceptsAcceptsAcceptsAcceptsMedical Psychotherapy1225General Psychiatry and Old Age Psychiatry*44373534General Psychiatry and Medical Psychotherapy*8753General Psychiatry12510994133Child and Adolescent Psychiatry46372848Psychiatry of Learning Disability24181017Forensic Psychiatry20191834Old Age Psychiatry20261628Forensic Psychiatry and Medical Psychotherapy*Not recruited to in these years1Source: Health Education England Oriel recruitment systemNote:*dual Certification of Completion of Training

Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) mental health and (b) other health services he has visited since he took office; and what the date was of each such visit.

David Mowat: A list of visits to mental health and other health services undertaken by my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State is attached. It is not possible to provide a definitive breakdown of all mental health services visited as they may be co-located with other services and were not recorded separately. We have marked mental health services only visits with an asterisk.



PQ60667 attached file
(Word Document, 26.98 KB)

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of in-patients have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983 in each of the last five years.

Nicola Blackwood: The number of people detained as a proportion of the number who spent time in hospital over the five years at England level is given in the following table.  People who spent time in hospital and number detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 : 2011/12-2015/16  2011/122012/132013/142014/152015/16 *Proportion detained who spent time in hospital42.4%45.6%35.2%40.1%34.3%*estimated on eight months submissions – April to October 2016.

Mental Health Services: Children

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children were admitted to adult in-patient mental health wards in 2015-16.

Nicola Blackwood: The information is not available in the format requested.

Mental Health Services: Schools

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to changes in reported levels of children's self-harm set out in the Good Childhood Report 2016, published by the Children's Society in August 2016, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen collaboration with the Department for Education on improving the availability of school-based mental health services.

Nicola Blackwood: The Department of Health has long worked closely with the Department for Education to improve the mental health of children and young people. Both Departments were involved in the production of the report Future in Mind as a result of which, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) have engaged with a range of key partners, including schools, in the development of their Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) to address the full spectrum of mental health services. This collaboration continues throughout the system, locally and nationally with the Department for Education and the Department of Health working closely together on pilots such as the Mental Health Services and Schools Link Pilots, which began in December 2015.The Department of Health and the Department for Education are also working together on a joint Green Paper on Children and Young People’s mental health, due for publication later this year, which will include, but not be limited to, improving mental health services for 0-25 year olds across all settings, including in schools.

Hospital Beds

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2017 to Question 59597, on hospital beds, when data for December 2016 will be published.

David Mowat: NHS England will publish December 2016 data for delayed transfers of care on 9 February, and will be available at the link below:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/delayed-transfers-of-care/2016-17-data/

NHS: Drugs

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential for (a) flexible pricing and (b) indication-specific pricing for drug purchase by the NHS.

Nicola Blackwood: Flexible pricing is an option for companies within the 2014 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS). To date, no applications have been received under the flexible pricing provisions since their introduction under the 2009 PPRS. The PPRS pricing flexibility provisions make clear that the Government is unlikely to support proposals for pricing approaches that would result in indication-specific pricing. This is because initial assessments indicate that such approaches would have significant long-term financial and operational implications for the National Health Service.